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. N.YOH-X.
LIFE
OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
BY
WASHINGTON IRVING
IN THREE VOLS.
VOL. I.
NEW YOEK:
G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE.
1856.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
By G. P. PUTNAM & CO.,
la the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
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return of peace. The open avowal of some of these
plans, and vague rumors of others, more than ever irri-
tated the jealous feelings of the colonists, and put the
dragon spirit of New England on the alert.
In 1760, there was an attempt in Boston to collect
duties on foreign sugar and molasses imported into the
colonies. Writs of assistance were applied for by the
custom-house officers, authorizing them to break open
ships, stores, and private dwellings, in quest of articles
that had paid no duty ; and to call the assistance of oth-
ers in the discharge of their odious task. The mer-
chants opposed the execution of the writ on constitu-
tional grounds. The question was argued in court,
where James Otis spoke so eloquently in vindication of
American rights, that all his hearers went away ready
to take arms against writs of assistance. " Then and
there," says John Adams, who was present, " was the
first scene of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great
Britain. Then and there American Independence was
born."
Another ministerial measure was to instruct the
provincial governors to commission judges. Not as
theretofore " during good behavior," but " during the
king's pleasure." New York was the first to resent
this blow at the independence of the judiciary. The
lawyers appealed to the public through the press,
against an act which subjected the halls of justice to
the prerogative. Their appeals were felt beyond the
bounds of the province, and awakened a general spirit
of resistance.
Thus matters stood at the conclusion of the war.
One of the first measures of ministers, on the return
1763.] PAPER CHAINS ON THE COLONIES. 331
of peace, was to enjoin on all naval officers stationed
on the coast of the American colonies the performance,
under oath, of the duties of custom-house officers, for
the suppression of smuggling. This fell ruinously
upon a clandestine trade which had long been connived
at between the English and Spanish colonies, profitable
to both, but especially to the former, and beneficial to
the mother country, opening a market to her manufac-
tures.
" Men-of-war," says Burke, " were for the first
time armed with the regular commissions of custom-
house officers, invested the coasts, and gave the col-
lection of revenue the air of hostile contribution.
# * # # They fell so indiscriminately on all sorts
of contraband, or supposed contraband, that some of
the most valuable branches of trade were driven vio-
lently from our ports, which caused an universal con-
sternation throughout the colonies." *
As a measure of retaliation, the colonists resolved
not to purchase British fabrics, but to clothe themselves
as much as possible in home manufactures. The de-
mand for British goods in Boston alone was diminished
upwards of £10,000 sterling in the course of a year.
In 1764, George Grenville, now at the head of
government, ventured upon the policy from which Wal-
pole had so wisely abstained. Early in March the
eventful question was debated, " whether they had a
right to tax America." It was decided in the affirma-
tive. Next followed a resolution, declaring it proper to
charge certain stamp duties in the colonies and planta-
* Burke on the state of the nation.
332 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1763.
tions, but no immediate step was taken to carry it into
effect. Mr. Grenville, however, gave notice to the
American agents in London, that he should introduce
such a measure on the ensuing session of Parliament.
In the mean time, Parliament perpetuated certain du-
ties on sugar and molasses — heretofore subjects of
complaint and opposition — now reduced and modified
so as to discourage smuggling, and thereby to render
them more productive. Duties, also, were imposed on
other articles of foreign produce or manufacture im-
ported into the colonies. To reconcile the latter to
these impositions, it was stated that the revenue thus
raised was to be appropriated to their protection and
security ; in other words, to the support of a standing
army, intended to be quartered upon them.
We have here briefly stated but a part of what
Burke terms an " infinite variety of paper chains," ex-
tending through no less than twenty-nine acts of Par-
liament, from 1660 to 1764, by which the colonies had
been held in thraldom.
The New Englanders were the first to take the field
against the project of taxation. They denounced it as
a violation of their rights as freemen ; of their char-
tered rights, by which they were to tax themselves for
their support and defence ; of their rights as British
subjects, who ought not to be taxed but by themselves
or their representatives. They sent petitions and re-
monstrances on the subject to the king, the lords, and
the commons, in which they were seconded by New
York and Virginia. Pranklin appeared in London at
the head of agents from Pennsylvania, Connecticut and
South Carolina, to deprecate, in person, measures so
1765.] STAMP ACT. 333
fraught with mischief. The most eloquent arguments
were used by British orators and statesmen to dissuade
Grenville from enforcing them. . He was warned of the
sturdy independence of the colonists, and the spirit of
resistance he might provoke. All was in vain. Gren-
ville, " great in daring and little in views," says Horace
Walpole, " was charmed to have an untrodden field
before him of calculation and experiment." In March,
1765, the act was passed, according to which all instru-
ments in writing were to be executed on stamped pa-
per, to be purchased from the agents of the British
government. What was more : all offences against the
act could be tried in any royal, marine, or admiralty
court throughout the colonies, however distant from the
place where the offence had been committed ; thus
interfering with that most inestimable right, a trial by
i ur y-
It was an ominous sign that the first burst of op-
position to this act should take place in Virginia. That
colony had hitherto been slow to accord with the re-
publican spirit of New England. Pounded at an
earlier period of the reign of James I., before kingly
prerogative and ecclesiastical supremacy had been made
matters of doubt and fierce dispute, it had grown up
in loyal attachment to king, church, and constitution ;
was aristocratical in its tastes and habits, and had been
remarked above all the other colonies for its sympathies
with the mother country: Moreover, it had not so
many pecuniary interests involved in these questions as
had the people of New England, being an agricultural
rather than a commercial province; but the Virginians
are of a quick and generous spirit, readily aroused on
334 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1765
all points of honorable pride, and they resented the
stamp act as an outrage on their rights.
Washington occupied his seat in the House of Bur-
gesses, when, on the 29th of May, the stamp act be-
came a subject of discussion. We have seen no previ-
ous opinions of his on the subject. His correspondence
hitherto had not turned on political or speculative
themes ; being engrossed by either military or agricul-
tural matters, and evincing little anticipation of the
vortex of public duties into which he was about to be
drawn. All his previous conduct and writings show a
loyal devotion to the crown, with a patriotic attachment
to his country. It is probable that on the present oc-
casion that latent patriotism received its first electric
shock.
Among the Burgesses sat Patrick Henry, a young
lawyer, who had recently distinguished himself by
pleading against the exercise of the royal prerogative
in church matters, and who was now for the first time
a member of the House. Rising in his place, he intro-
duced his celebrated resolutions, declaring that the
General Assembly of Virginia had the exclusive right
and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the in-
habitants, and that whoever maintained the contrary
should be deemed an enemy to the colony.
The speaker, Mr. Robinson, objected to the resolu-
tions, as inflammatory. Henry vindicated them, as
justified by the nature of the case ; went into an able
and constitutional discussion of colonial rights, and an
eloquent exposition of the manner in which they had
been assailed ; wound up by one of those daring flights
of declamation for which he was remarkable, and
1765.] SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY. 335
startled the House by a warning flash from history :
" Caesar had his Brutus ; Charles his Cromwell • and
George the Third — (' Treason! treason!' resounded
from the neighborhood of the Chair) — may profit by
their examples," added Henry. " Sir, if this be trea-
son (bowing to the speaker), make the most of it ! "
The resolutions were modified, to accommodate
them to the scruples of the speaker and some of the
members, but their spirit was retained. The Lieu-
tenant-governor (Fauquier), startled by this patriotic
outbreak, dissolved the Assembly, and issued writs for
a new election ; but the clarion had sounded. " The
resolves of the Assembly of Virginia," says a corre-
spondent of the ministry, " gave the signal for a gen-
eral outcry over the continent. The movers and sup-
porters of them were applauded as the protectors and
assertors of American liberty." *
* Letter to Secretary Conway, New York, Sept. 23.— Parliamentary
Register,
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE COLONIES — PORTENTOUS CEREMONIES AT BOSTON AND NEW YORK
— NON-IMPOETATION AGREEMENT AMONG THE MERCHANTS — WASHING-
TON AND GEORGE MASON — DISMISSAL OF GRENVILLE FROM THE BRITISH
CABINET FRANKLIN BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS — REPEAL OF
THE STAMP ACT — JOY OF WASHINGTON — FRESH CAUSES OF COLONIAL
DISSENSIONS — CIRCULAR OF THE GENERAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS
EMBARKATION OF TROOPS FOR BOSTON — MEASURES OF THE BOS-
TONIANS.
Washington returned to Mount Vernon full of anxious
thoughts inspired by the political events of the day,
and the legislative scene which he witnessed. His
recent letters had spoken of the state of peaceful tran-
quillity in which he was living; those now written
from his rural home show that he fully participated in
the popular feeling, and that while he had a presenti-
ment of an arduous struggle, his patriotic mind was
revolving means of coping with it. Such is the tenor
of a letter written to his wife's uncle, Francis Dan-
dridge, then in London. " The stamp act," said he,
"engrosses the conversation of the speculative part of
the colonists, who look upon this unconstitutional
method of taxation as a direful attack upon their liber-
1765.J OPPOSITION TO THE STAMP ACT. 337
ties, and loudly exclaim against the violation. What
may be the result of this, and of some other (I think I
may add ill-judged) measures, I will not undertake to
determine; but this I may venture to affirm, that the
advantage accruing to the mother country, will fall
greatly short of the expectation of the ministry; for
certain it is, that our whole substance already in a
manner flows to Great Britain, and that whatsoever con-
tributes to lessen our importations must be hurtful to
her manufactures. The eyes of our people already
begin to be opened ; and they will perceive that many
luxuries, for which we lavish our substance in Great
Britain, can well be dispensed with. This, conse-
quently, will introduce frugality, and be a necessary
incitement to industry. ****** As to
the stamp act, regarded in a single view, one of the
first bad consequences attending it, is, that our courts
of judicature must inevitably be shut up ; for it is im-
possible, or next to impossible, under our present cir-
cumstances, that the act of Parliament can be com-
plied with, were we ever so willing to enforce its exe-
cution. And not to say (which alone would be suffi-
cient) that we have not money enough to pay for the
stamps, there are many other cogent reasons which
prove that it would be ineffectual."
A letter of the same date to his agents in London,
of ample length and minute in all its details, shows
that, while deeply interested in the course of public
affairs, his practical mind was enabled thoroughly and
ably to manage the financial concerns of his estate and
of the estate of Mrs. Washington's son, John Parke
Custis, towards whom he acted the part of a faithful
vol. i.— 22
338 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1765.
and affectionate guardian. In those days, Virginia
planters were still in direct and frequent correspond-
ence with their London factors ; and Washington's let-
ters respecting his shipments of tobacco, and the re-
turns required in various articles for household and
personal use, are perfect models for a man of business.
And this may be remarked throughout his whole career,
that no pressure of events nor multiplicity of cares
prevented a clear, steadfast undercut rent of attention
to domestic affairs, and the interest and well-being of
all dependent upon him.
In the mean time, from his quiet abode at Mount
Vernon, he seemed to hear the patriotic voice of Pa-
trick Henry, which had startled the House of Burgesses,
echoing throughout the land, and rousing one legis-
lative body after another to follow the example of that
of Virginia. At the instigation of the General Court
or Assembly of Massachusetts, a Congress was held in
New York in October, composed of delegates from
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and
South Carolina. In this they denounced the acts of
Parliament imposing taxes on them without their con-
sent, and extending the jurisdiction of the courts of
admiralty, as violations of their rights and liberties as
natural born subjects of Great Britain, and prepared an
address to the king, and a petition to both Houses of
Parliament, praying for redress. Similar petitions were
forwarded to England by the colonies not represented
in the Congress.
The very preparations for enforcing the stamp act
called forth popular tumults in various places. In Bos-
1765.] POPULAR AGITATION. 339
ton the stamp distributor was hanged in effigy; his
windows were broken ; a house intended for a stamp
office was pulled down, and the effigy burnt in a bon-
fire made of the fragments. The lieutenant-governor,
chief justice, and sheriff, attempting to allay the
tumult, were pelted. The stamp officer thought him-
self happy to be hanged merely in effigy, and next day
publicly renounced the perilous office.
Various were the proceedings in other places, all
manifesting public scorn and defiance of the act. In
Virginia, Mr. George Mercer had been appointed dis-
tributor of stamps, but on his arrival at Williamsburg
publicly declined officiating. It was a fresh triumph
to the popular cause. The bells were rung for joy ;
the town was illuminated, and Mercer was hailed with
acclamations of the people.*
The 1st of November, the day when the act was
to go into operation, was ushered in with portentous
solemnities. There was great tolling of bells and
burning of effigies in the New England colonies. At
Boston the ships displayed their colors but half-mast
high. Many shops were shut ; funeral knells resound-
ed from the steeples, and there was a grand auto-da-fe,
in which the promoters of the act were paraded, and
suffered martyrdom in effigy.
At New York the printed act was carried about
the streets on a pole, surmounted by a death's head,
with a scroll bearing the inscription, " The folly of Eng-
land and ruin of America." Colden, the lieutenant-
governor, who acquired considerable odium by recom-
* Holmes's Annals, vol. ii., p. 138.
340 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1765.
mending to government the taxation of the colonies,
the institution of hereditary Assemblies, and other
tory measures, seeing that a popular storm was rising,
retired into the fort, taking with him the stamp papers,
and garrisoned it with marines from a ship of war.
The mob broke into his stable ; drew out his chariot ;
put his effigy into it ; paraded it through the streets to
the common (now the Park), where they hung it on a
gallows. In the evening it was taken down, put again
into the chariot, with the devil for a companion, and
escorted back by torchlight to the Bowling Green;
where the whole pageant, chariot and all, was burnt
under the very guns of the fort.
These are specimens of the marks of popular repro-
bation with which the stamp act was universally nulli-
fied. No one would venture to carry it into execution.
In fact, no stamped paper was to be seen; all had
been either destroyed or concealed. All transactions
which required stamps to give them validity were sus-
pended, or were executed by private compact. The
courts of justice were closed, until at length some con-
ducted their business without stamps. Union was be-
coming the watch-word. The merchants of New
York, Philadelphia, Boston, and such other colonies as
had ventured publicly to oppose the stamp act, agreed
to import no more British manufactures after the 1st
of January unless it should be repealed. So passed
away the year 1765.
As yet Washington took no prominent part in the
public agitation. Indeed he was never disposed to put
himself forward on popular occasions, his innate mod-
esty forbade it ; it was others who knew his worth that
1765.] FRANKLIN BEFORE THE COMMONS. 341
called him forth ; but when once he engaged in any
public measure, he devoted himself to it with con-
scientiousness and persevering zeal. At present he
remained a quiet but vigilant observer of events from his
eagle nest at Mount Vernon. He had some few inti-
mates in his neighborhood who accorded with him in
sentiment. One of the. ablest and most efficient of
these was Mr. George Mason, with whom he had occa-
sional conversations on the state of affairs. His friends
the Fairfaxes, though liberal in feelings and opinions,
were too strong in their devotion to the crown not to
regard with an uneasy eye the tendency of the popular
bias. From one motive or other, the earnest attention
of all the inmates and visitors at Mount Vernon was
turned to England, watching the movements of the
ministry.
The dismissal of Mr. Grenville from the cabinet
gave a temporary change to public affairs. Perhaps
nothing had a greater effect in favor of the colonies
than an examination of Dr. Franklin before the House
of Commons, on the subject of the stamp act.
"What," he was asked, "was the temper of Amer-
ica towards Great Britain, before the year 1763 ? "
" The best in the world. They submitted willingly
to the government of the crown, and paid, in all their
courts, obedience to the acts of Parliament. Numerous
as the people are in the several old provinces, they cost
you nothing in forts, citadels, garrisons, or armies, to
keep them in subjection. They were governed by this
country at the expense only of a little pen, ink, and
paper. They were led by a thread. They had not
only a respect, but an affection for Great Britain, for
342 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1766.
its laws, its customs, and manners, and even a fondness
for its fashions, that greatly increased the commerce.
Natives of Great Britain were always treated with par-
ticular regard; to be an Old-England man was, of
itself, a character of some respect, and gave a kind of
rank among us."
" And what is their temper now? "
" Oh ! very much altered."
" If the act is not repealed, what do you think will
be the consequences ? "
" A total loss of the respect and affection the people
of America bear to this country, and of all the com-
merce that depends on that respect and affection."
" Do you think the people of America would sub-
mit to pay the stamp duty if it was moderated ? "
" No, never, unless compelled by force of arms."*
The act was repealed on the 18th of March, 1766,
to the great joy of the sincere friends of both coun-
tries, and to no one more than to Washington. In one
of his letters he observes : " Had the Parliament of
Great Britain resolved upon enforcing it, the conse-
quences, I conceive, would have been more direful
than is generally apprehended, both to the mother
country and her colonies. All, therefore, who were
instrumental in procuring the repeal, are entitled to the
thanks of every British subject, and have mine cor-
dially."!
Still, there was a fatal clause in the repeal, which
declared that the king, with the consent of Parliament,
had power and authority to make laws and statutes of
* Parliamentary Register, 1766.
f Sparks. Writings of Washington, ii., 345, note.
1766.] THE MUTINY ACT. 343
sufficient force and validity to " bind the colonies, and
people of America, in all cases whatsoever."
As the people of America were contending for prin-
ciples, not mere pecuniary interests, this reserved power
of the crown and Parliament left the dispute still open,
and chilled the feeling of gratitude which the repeal
might otherwise have inspired. Further aliment for
public discontent was furnished by other acts of Par-
liament. One imposed duties on glass, pasteboard,
white and red lead, painters' colors, and tea ; the du-
ties to be collected on the arrival of the articles in the
colonies ; another empowered naval officers to enforce
the acts of trade and navigation. Another wounded
to the quick the pride and sensibilities of New York.
The mutiny act had recently been extended to Amer-
ica, with an additional clause, requiring the provincial
Assemblies to provide the troops sent out with quar-
ters, and to furnish them with fire, beds, candles, and
other necessaries, at the expense of the colonies. The
Governor and Assembly of New York refused to com-
ply with this requisition as to stationary forces, insist-
ing that it applied only to troops on a march. An act
of Parliament now suspended the powers of the Gov-
ernor and Assembly until they should comply. Chat-
ham attributed this opposition of the colonists to the
mutiny act to "their jealousy of being somehow or
other taxed internally by the Parliament; the act,"
said he, "asserting the right of Parliament, has cer-
tainly spread a most unfortunate jealousy and diffi-
dence of government here throughout America, and
makes them jealous of the least distinction between
344 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1766
this country and that, lest the same principle may be
extended to taxing them." *
Boston continued to be the focus of what the min-
isterialists termed sedition. The General Court of
Massachusetts, not content with petitioning the king
for relief against the recent measures of Parliament,
especially those imposing taxes as a means of revenue,
drew up a circular, calling on the other colonial
Legislatures to join with them in suitable efforts to ob-
tain redress. In the ensuing session, Governor Sir
Francis Bernard called upon them to rescind the reso-
lution on which the circular was founded, — they refused
to comply, and the General Court was consequently
dissolved. The governors of other colonies required
of their Legislatures an assurance that they would not
reply to the Massachusetts circular,' — these Legislatures
likewise refused compliance, and were dissolved. All
this added to the growing excitement.
Memorials were addressed to the lords, spiritual
and temporal, and remonstrances to the House of Com-
mons, against taxation for revenue, as destructive to
the liberties of the colonists ; and against the act sus-
pending the legislative power of the province of New
York, as menacing the welfare of the colonies in
general.
Nothing, however, produced a more powerful effect
upon the public sensibilities throughout the* country,
than certain military demonstrations at Boston. In
consequence of repeated collisions between the people
of that place and the commissioners of customs, two
* Chatham's Correspondence, vol. iii., p. 189-192.
1766.! CONVENTION AT BOSTON. 345
regiments were held in readiness at Halifax to embark
for Boston in the ships of Commodore Hood whenever
Governor Bernard, or the general, should give the
word. "Had this force been landed in Boston six
months ago," writes the commodore, " I am perfectly
persuaded no address or remonstrances would have
been sent from the other colonies, and that all would
have been tolerably quiet and orderly at this time
throughout America." *
Tidings reached Boston that these troops were em-
barked, and that they were coming to overawe the
people. What was to be done ? The General Court
had been dissolved, and the governor refused to con-
vene it without the royal command. A convention
therefore, from various towns, met at Boston, on the
22d of September, to devise measures for the public
safety; but disclaiming all pretensions to legislative
powers. While the convention was yet in session
(September 28th), the two regiments arrived, with
seven armed vessels. " I am very confident," writes
Commodore Hood from Halifax, " the spirited measures
now pursuing will soon effect order in America."
On the contrary, these " spirited measures " added
fuel to the fire they were intended to quench. It was
resolved in a town meeting that the king had no right
to send troops thither without the consent of the As-
sembly; that Great Britain had broken the original
compact, and that, therefore, the king's officers had no
longer any business there. f
The " selectmen " accordingly refused to find quar-
* Grenville Papers, vol. iv., p. 362.
f Whately to Grenville. Gren. Papers, vol. iv., p. 389.
346 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1766
ters for the soldiers in the town ; the council refused to
find barracks for them, lest it should be construed into
a compliance with the disputed clause of the mutiny
act. Some of the troops, therefore, which had tents,
were encamped on the Common ; others, by the gov-
ernor's orders, were quartered in the state-house, and
others in Paneuil Hall, to the great indignation of the
public, who were grievously scandalized at seeing field-
pieces planted in front of the state-house; sentinels
stationed at the doors, challenging every one who
passed ; and, above all, at having the sacred quiet of
the Sabbath disturbed by drum and fife, and other
nilitary music.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHEERFUL LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON — WASHINGTON AND GEOEGE MASON —
CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE NON-IMPORTATION AGREEMENT —
FEELING TOWARD ENGLAND — OPENING OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION —
SEMI-REGAL STATE OF LORD BOTETOURT — HIGH-TONED PROCEEDINGS
OF THE HOUSE — SYMPATHY WITH NEW ENGLAND — DISSOLVED BY LORD
BOTETOURT — WASHINGTON AND THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION.
Throughout these public agitations, Washington en-
deavored to preserve his equanimity. Removed from
the heated throngs of cities, his diary denotes a cheer-
ful and healthful life at Mount Vernon, devoted to
those rural occupations in which he delighted, and
varied occasionally by his favorite field sports. Some-
times he is duck-shooting on the Potomac. Repeatedly
we find note of his being out at sunrise with the
hounds, in company with ©Id Lord Fairfax, Bryan
Fairfax, and others ; and ending the day's sport by a
dinner at Mount Vernon, or Belvoir.
Still he was too true a patriot not to sympathize in
the struggle for colonial rights which now agitated the
whole country, and we find him gradually carried more
and more into the current of political affairs.
A letter written on the 5th of April, 1769, to his
348 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1769.
friend, George Mason, shows the important stand he
was disposed to take. In the previous year, the mer-
chants and traders of Boston, Salem, Connecticut, and
New York, had agreed to suspend for a time the im-
portation of all articles subject to taxation. Similar
resolutions had recently been adopted by the merchants
of Philadelphia. Washington's letter is emphatic in
support of the measure. "At a time," writes he,
" when our lordly masters in Great Britain will be sat-
isfied with nothing less than the deprivation of Ameri-
can freedom, it seems highly necessary that something
should be done to avert the stroke, and maintain the
liberty which we have derived from our ancestors. But
the manner of doing it, to answer the purpose effectu-
ally, is the point in question. That no man should
scruple, or hesitate a moment in defence of so valuable
a blessing, is clearly my opinion ; yet arms should be
the last resource — the dernier ressort. We have already,
it is said, proved the inefficacy of addresses to the
throne, and remonstrances to Parliament. How far
their attention to our rights and interests is to be
awakened, or alarmed, by starving their trade and
manufactures, remains to be tried.
" The northern colonies, it appears, are endeavoring
to adopt this scheme. In my opinion, it is a good one,
and must be attended with salutary effects, provided it
can be carried pretty generally into execution. * *
* That there will be a difficulty attending it every
where from clashing interests, and selfish, designing
men, ever attentive to their own gain, and watchful of
every turn that can assist their lucrative views, cannot
be denied ; and in the tobacco colonies where the trade
1769.] NON-IMPORTATION PROJECT. 349
is so diffused, and in a manner wholly conducted by
factors for their principals at home, these difficulties are
certainly enhanced, but I think not insurmountably
increased, if the gentlemen in their several counties
will be at some pains to explain matters to the people,
and stimulate them to cordial agreements to purchase
none but certain enumerated articles out of any of the
stores, after a definite period, and neither import, nor
purchase any themselves. * * * I can see but
one class of people, the merchants excepted, who will
not, or ought not, to wish well to the scheme, — namely,
they who live genteelly and hospitably on clear estates.
Such as these, were they not to consider the valuable
object in view, and the good of others, might think it
hard to be curtailed in their living and enjoyments."
This was precisely the class to which Washington
belonged ; but he was ready and willing to make the
sacrifices required. " I think the scheme a good one,"
added he, " and that it ought to be tried here, with
such alterations as our circumstances render absolutely
necessary."
Mason, in his reply, concurred with him in opinion.
"Our all is at stake," said he, "and the little conve-
niences and comforts of life, when set in competition with
our liberty, ought to be rejected, not with reluctance,
but with pleasure. Yet it is plain that, in the tobacco
colonies, we cannot at present confine our importations
within such narrow bounds as the northern colonies.
A plan of this kind, to be practicable, must be adapted
to our circumstances; for, if not steadily executed, it
had better have remained unattempted. We may re-
trench all manner of superfluities, finery of all descrip-
350 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1769.
tions, and confine ourselves to linens, woollens, &c., not
exceeding a certain price. It is amazing how much
this practice, if adopted in all the colonies, would lessen
the American imports, and distress the various trades
and manufactures of Great Britain. This would awa-
ken their attention. They would see, they would feel,
the oppressions we groan under, and exert themselves
to procure us redress. This once obtained, we should
no longer discontinue our importations, confining our-
selves still not to import any article that should here-
after be taxed by act of Parliament for raising a reve-
nue in America ; for, however singular I may be in the
opinion, I am thoroughly convinced, that, justice and
harmony happily restored, it is not the interest of these
colonies to refuse British manufactures. Our supplying
our mother country with gross materials, and taking her
manufactures in return, is the true chain of connection
between us. These are the bands which, if not broken
by oppression, must long hold us together, by maintain-
ing a constant reciprocation of interests!'
The latter part of the above quotation shows the
spirit which actuated Washington and the friends of
his confidence; as yet there was no thought nor de-
sire of alienation from the mother country, but only a
fixed determination to be placed on an equality of
rights and privileges with her other children.
A single word in the passage cited from Washing-
ton's letter, evinces the chord which still vibrated in
the American bosom : he incidentally speaks of Eng-
land as home. It was the familiar term with which she
was usually indicated by those of English descent ; and
the writer of these pages remembers when the endear-
1769.] LORD BOTETOURT. 351
ing phrase still lingered on Anglo-American lips even
after the Revolution. How easy would it have been
before that era for the mother country to have rallied
back the affections of her colonial children, by a proper
attention to their complaints. They asked for nothing
but what they were entitled to, and what she had taught
them to prize as their dearest inheritance. The spirit
of liberty which they manifested had been derived from
her own precept and example.
The result of the correspondence between Wash-
ington and Mason was the draft by the latter of a plan
of association, the members of which were to pledge
themselves not to import or use any articles of British
merchandise or manufacture subject to duty. This
paper Washington was to submit to the consideration
of the House of Burgesses, at the approaching session
in the month of May.
The Legislature of Virginia opened on this occasion
with a brilliant pageant. While military force was
arrayed to overawe the republican Puritans of the east,
it was thought to dazzle the aristocratical descendants
of the Cavaliers by the reflex of regal splendor. Lord
Botetourt, one of the king's lords of the bed-chamber,
had recently come out as governor of the province.
Junius described him as " a cringing, bowing, fawning,
sword-bearing courtier." Horace Walpole predicted
that he would turn the heads of the Virginians in one
way or other. " If his graces do not captivate them,
he will enrage them to fury ; for I take all his douceur
to be enamelled on iron."* The words of political
* Grenville papers, iv., note to p. 830.
352 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1769.
satirists and court wits, however, are always to be taken
with great distrust. However his lordship may have
bowed in presence of royalty, he elsewhere conducted
himself with dignity, and won general favor by his en-
dearing manners. He certainly showed promptness of
spirit in his reply to the king on being informed of his
appointment. "When will you be ready to go?"
asked George III. "To-night, sir."
He had come out, however, with a wrong idea of
the Americans. They had been represented to him as
factious, immoral, and prone to sedition ; but vain and
luxurious, and easily captivated by parade and splen
dor. The latter foibles were aimed at in his appoint-
ment and fitting out. It was supposed that his titled
rank would have its effect. Then, to prepare him for
occasions of ceremony, a coach of state was presented
,o him by the king. He was allowed, moreover, the
quantity of plate usually given to ambassadors, where-
upon the joke was circulated that he was going " pleni-
po to the Cherokees." *
His opening of the session was in the style of the
royal opening of Parliament. He proceeded in due
parade from his dwelling to the capitol, in his state
coach, drawn by six milk-white horses. Having deliv-
ered his speech according to royal form, he returned
home with the same pomp and circumstance.
The time had gone by, however, for such display to
have the anticipated effect. The Virginian legislators
penetrated the intention of this pompous ceremonial,
and regarded it with a depreciating smile. Sterner
• Whately to Geo. Grenville. Grenville papers.
1769.J ADDRESS TO THE KING. 353
matters occupied their thoughts ; they had come pre-
pared to battle for their rights, and their proceedings
soon showed Lord Botetourt how much he had mistaken
them. Spirited resolutions were passed, denouncing
the recent act of Parliament imposing taxes ; the power
to do which, on the inhabitants of this colony, "was
legally and constitutionally vested in the House of Bur-
gesses, with consent of the council and of the king or
of his governor, for the time being." Copies of these
resolutions were ordered to be forwarded by the speak-
er to the Legislatures of the other colonies, with a
request for their concurrence.
Other proceedings of the Burgesses showed their
sympathy with their fellow-patriots of New England.
A joint address of both Houses of Parliament had
recently been made to the king, assuring him of their
support in any further measures for the due execution
of the laws in Massachusetts, and beseeching him that
all persons charged with treason, or misprision of trea-
son, committed within that colony since the 30th of
December, 1767, might be sent to Great Britain for
trial.
As Massachusetts had no General Assembly at this
time, having been dissolved by government, the Legis-
lature of Virginia generously took up the cause. An
address to the king was resolved on, stating, that all
trials for treason, or misprision of treason, or for any
crime whatever, committed by any person residing in a
colony, ought to be in and before his majesty's courts
within said colony 5 and beseeching the king to avert
from his loyal subjects those dangers and miseries
which would ensue from seizing and carrying beyond
vol. l— 23
354 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1769.
sea any person residing in America suspected of any
crime whatever, thereby depriving them of the inesti-
mable privilege of being tried by a jury from the vici-
nage, as well as the liberty of producing witnesses on
such trial.
Disdaining any further application to Parliament,
the House ordered the speaker to transmit this address
to the colonies' agent in England, with directions to
cause it to be presented to the king, and afterwards to
be printed and published in the English papers.
Lord Botetourt was astonished and dismayed when
he heard of these high-toned proceedings. Repairing
to the capitol on the following day at noon, he sum-
moned the speaker and members to the council cham-
ber, and addressed them in the following words : " Mr.
Speaker, and gentlemen of the House of Burgesses, I
have heard of your resolves, and augur ill of their
effects. You have made it my duty to dissolve you,
and you are dissolved accordingly."
The spirit conjured up by the late decrees of Par-
liament was not so easily allayed. The Burgesses ad-
journed to a private house. Peyton Randolph, their
late speaker, was elected moderator. Washington now
brought forward a draft of the articles of association,
concerted between him and George Mason. They
formed the groundwork of an instrument signed by all
present, pledging themselves neither to import, nor use
any goods, merchandise, or manufactures taxed by Par-
liament to raise a revenue in America. This instru-
ment was sent throughout the country for signature,
and the scheme of non-importation, hitherto confined
to a few northern colonies, was soon universally
1769.] LORD BOTETOURT UNDECEIVED. 355
adopted. For his own part, Washington adhered to it
rigorously throughout the year. The articles proscribed
by it were never to be seen in his house, and his agent
in London was enjoined to ship nothing for him while
subject to taxation.
The popular ferment in Virginia was gradually
allayed by the amiable and conciliatory conduct of
Lord Botetourt. His lordship soon became aware of
the erroneous notions with which he had entered upon
office. His semi-royal equipage and state were laid
aside. He examined into public grievances ; became a
strenuous advocate for the repeal of taxes ; and, author-
ized by his despatches from the ministry, assured the
public that such repeal would speedily take place. His
assurance was received with implicit faith, and for a
while Virginia was quieted.
CHAPTER XXX.
HOOD AT BOSTON — THE GENERAL COURT REFUSES TO DO BUSINESS UNDER
MILITARY SWAY — RESISTS THE BILLETING ACT — EFFECT OF THE NON-
IMPORTATION ASSOCIATION — LORD NORTH PREMIER — DUTIES REVOKED
EXCEPT ON TEA — THE BOSTON MASSACRE — DISUSE OF TEA — CONCILIA-
TORY CONDUCT OF LORD BOTETOURT — HI8 DEATH.
" The worst is past, and the spirit of sedition broken,"
writes Hood to Grenville, early in the spring of 1769.*
When the commodore wrote this, his ships were in the
harbor, and troops occupied the town, and he nattered
himself that at length turbulent Boston was quelled.
But it only awaited its time to be seditious according
to rule ; there was always an irresistible " method in its
madness/'
In the month of May, the General Court, hitherto
prorogued, met according to charter. A committee
immediately waited on the governor, stating it was im-
possible to do business with dignity and freedom while
the town was invested by sea and land, and a military
guard was stationed at the state-house, with cannon
pointed at the door ; and they requested the governor,
as his majesty's representative, to have such forces re-
* Grenville Papers, vol. iii.
1770.J THE ASSEMBLY PROROGUED. 357
moved out of the port and gates of the city during the
session of the Assembly.
The governor replied that he had no authority over
either the ships or troops. The Court persisted in
refusing to transact business while so circumstanced,
and the governor was obliged to transfer the session to
Cambridge. There he addressed a message to that
body in July, requiring funds for the payment of the
troops, and quarters for their accommodation. The
Assembly, after ample discussion of past grievances,
resolved, that the establishment of a standing army in
the colony in a time of peace was an invasion of natu-
ral rights ; that a standing army was not known as a
part of the British constitution, and that the sending
an armed force to aid the civil authority was unprece-
dented, and highly dangerous to the people.
After waiting some days without receiving an an-
swer to his message, the governor sent to know whether
the Assembly would, or would not, make provision for
the troops. In their reply, they followed the example
of the Legislature of New York, in commenting on the
mutiny, or billeting act, and ended by declining to fur-
nish funds for the purposes specified, " being incompati-
ble with their own honor and interest, and their duty to
their constituents." They were in consequence again
prorogued, to meet in Boston on the 10th of January.
So stood affairs in Massachusetts. In the mean
time, the non-importation associations, being generally
observed throughout the colonies, produced the effect
on British commerce which Washington had anticipa-
ted, and Parliament was incessantly importuned by
358 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1770.
petitions from British merchants, imploring its inter-
vention to save them from ruin.
Early in 1770, an important change took place in
the British cabinet. The Duke of Grafton suddenly
resigned, and the reins of government passed into the
hands of Lord North. He was a man of limited ca-
pacity, but a favorite of the king, and subservient to
his narrow colonial policy. His administration, so
eventful to America, commenced with an error. In
the month of March, an act was passed, revoking all
the duties laid in 1767, excepting that on tea. This
single tax was continued, as he observed, " to maintain
the parliamentary right of taxation," — the very right
which was the grand object of the contest. In this,
however, he was in fact yielding, against his better
judgment, to the stubborn tenacity of the king.
He endeavored to reconcile the opposition, and per-
haps himself, to the measure, by plausible reasoning.
An impost of threepence on the pound could never, he
alleged, be opposed by the colonists, unless they were
determined to rebel against Great Britain. Besides, a
duty on that article, payable in England, and amount-
ing to nearly one shilling on the pound, was taken off
on its exportation to America, so that the inhabitants
of the colonies saved ninepence on the pound.
Here was the stumbling-block at the threshold of
Lord North's administration. In vain the members of
the opposition urged that this single exception, while it
would produce no revenue, would keep alive the whole
cause of contention; that so long as a single external
duty was enforced, the colonies would consider their
rights invaded, and would remain unappeased. Lord
1770.J THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 359
North was not to be convinced ; or rather, he knew the
royal will was inflexible, and he complied with its be-
hests. "The properest time to exert our right of taxa-
tion, ,, said he, " is when the right is refused. To tem-
porize is to yield; and the authority of the mother
country, if it is now unsupported, will be relinquished
for ever : a total repeal cannot be thought of, till Amer-
ica is prostrate at our feet." *
On the very day in which this ominous bill was
passed in Parliament, a sinister occurrence took place
in Boston. Some of the young men of the place in-
sulted the military while under arms ; the latter resent-
ed it; the young men, after a scuffle, were put to
flight, and pursued. The alarm bells rang, — a mob
assembled; the custom-house was threatened; the
troops, in protecting it, were assailed with clubs and
stones, and obliged to use their fire-arms, before the
tumult could be quelled. Pour of the populace were
killed, and several wounded. The troops were now
removed from the town, which remained in the highest
state of exasperation; and this untoward occurrence
received the opprobrious, and somewhat extravagant
name of " the Boston massacre."
The colonists, as a matter of convenience, resumed
the consumption of those articles on which the duties
had been repealed; but continued, on principle, the
rigorous disuse of tea, excepting such as had been
smuggled in. New England was particularly earnest
in the matter ; many of the inhabitants, in the spirit
of their Puritan progenitors, made a covenant to drink
* Holmes's Airer. Annals, vol. ii, p. 173.
360 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1770.
no more of the forbidden beverage, until the duty on
tea should be repealed.
In Virginia the public discontents, which had been
allayed by the conciliatory conduct of Lord Botetourt,
and by his assurances, made on the strength of letters
received from the ministry, that the grievances com-
plained of would be speedily redressed, now broke out
with more violence than ever. The Virginians spurned
the mock-remedy which left the real cause of complaint
untouched. His lordship also felt deeply wounded by
the disingenuousness of ministers which had led him
into such a predicament, and wrote home demanding
his discharge. Before it arrived, an attack of bilious
fever, acting upon a delicate and sensitive frame, en-
feebled by anxiety and chagrin, laid him in his grave.
He left behind him a name endeared to the Virginians
by his amiable manners, his liberal patronage of the
arts, and, above all, by his zealous intercession for their
rights. Washington himself testifies that he was in-
clined " to render every just and reasonable service to
the people whom he governed." A statue to his mem-
ory was decreed by the House of Burgesses, to be
erected in the area of the capitol. It is still to be
seen, though in a mutilated condition, in Williams-
burg, the old seat of government, and a county in
Virginia continues to bear his honored name.
CHAPTER XXXI.
EXPEDITION OF WASHINGTON TO THE OHIO, IN BEHALF OF SOLDIERS*
CLAIMS — UNEASY STATE OF THE FRONTIER — VISIT TO FOET PITT —
GEOEGE OEOGHAN — HIS MISHAPS DURING PONTIAO's WAR — WASHING-
TON DESCENDS THE OHIO — SCENES AND ADVENTURES ALONG THE RrVEE
— INDIAN HUNTING CAMP — INTERVIEW WITH AN OLD SACHEM AT THE
MOUTH OF THE iKANAWHA — RETURN — CLAIMS OF STOBO AND VAN
BRAAM — LETTER TO COLONEL GEORGE MUSE.
In the midst of these popular turmoils, Washington
was induced, by public as well as private considera-
tions, to make another expedition to the Ohio. He
was one of the Virginia Board of Commissioners, ap-
pointed, at the close of the late war, to settle the mili-
tary accounts of the colony. Among the claims which
came before the board, were those of the officers and
soldiers who had engaged to serve until peace, under
the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddie, holding forth
a bounty of two hundred thousand acres of land, to be
apportioned among them according to rank. Those
claims were yet unsatisfied, for governments, like indi-
viduals, are slow to pay off in peaceful times the debts
incurred while in the fighting mood. Washington be-
came the champion of those claims, and an opportunity
now presented itself for their liquidation. The Six
Nations, by a treaty in 1768, had ceded to the British
362 LIFE OP WASHINGTON. [1770.
crown, in consideration of a sum of money, all the
lands possessed by them south of the Ohio. Land
offices would soon be opened for the sale of them.
Squatters and speculators were already preparing to
swarm in, set up their marks on the choicest spots, and
establish what were called pre-emption rights. Wash-
ington determined at once to visit the lands thus
ceded; affix his mark on such tracts as he should
select, and apply for a grant from government in be-
half of the " soldiers' claim."
The expedition would be attended with some de-
gree of danger. The frontier was yet in an uneasy
state. It is true, some time had elapsed since the
war of Pontiac, but some of the Indian tribes were
almost ready to resume the hatchet. The Delawares,
Shawnees, and Mingoes, complained that the Six Na-
tions had not given them their full share of the consid-
eration money of the late sale, and they talked of
exacting the deficiency from the white men who came
to settle in what had been their hunting-grounds.
Traders, squatters, and other adventurers into the wil-
derness, were occasionally murdered, and further trou-
bles were apprehended.
Washington had for a companion in this expedition
his friend and neighbor, Dr. Craik, and it was with
strong community of feeling they looked forward peace-
ably to revisit the scenes of their military experience.
They set out on the 5th of October with three negro
attendants, two belonging to Washington, and one to
the doctor. The whole party was mounted, and there
was a led horse for the baggage.
After twelve days' travelling they arrived at Fort
1770.] VISIT TO FORT PITT. 363
Pitt (late Fort Duquesne). It was garrisoned by two
companies of royal Irish, commanded by a Captain
Edmonson. A hamlet of about twenty log-houses, in-
habited by Indian traders, had sprung up within three
hundred yards of the fort, and was called " the town."
It was the embryo city of Pittsburg, now so popu-
lous. At one of the houses, a tolerable frontier inn,
they took up their quarters; but during their brief
sojourn, they were entertained with great hospitality at
the fort.
Here at dinner Washington met his old acquaint-
ance, George Croghan, who had figured in so many
capacities and experienced so many vicissitudes on the
frontier. He was now Colonel Croghan, deputy-agent
to Sir William Johnson, and had his residence — or
seat, as Washington terms it — on the banks of the
Allegany River, about four miles from the fort.
Croghan had experienced troubles and dangers
during the Pontiac war, both from white man and sav-
age. At one time, while he was convoying presents
from Sir William to the Delawares and Shawnees, his
caravan was set upon and plundered by a band of
backwoodsmen of Pennsylvania — men resembling In-
dians in garb and habits, and fully as lawless. At
another time, when encamped at the mouth of the
Wabash with some of his Indian allies, a band of
Kickapoos, supposing the latter to be Cherokees, their
deadly enemies, rushed forth from the woods with hor-
rid yells, shot down several of his companions, and
wounded himself. It must be added, that no white
men could have made more ample apologies than did
364 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1770.
the Kickapoos, when they discovered that they had
fired upon friends.
Another of Croghan's perils was from the redoubt-
able Pontiac himself. That chieftain had heard of his
being on a mission to win off, by dint of presents, the
other sachems of the conspiracy, and declared, signifi-
cantly, that he had a large kettle boiling in which he
intended to seethe the ambassador. It was fortunate
for Croghan that he did not meet with the formidable
chieftain while in this exasperated mood. He subse-
quently encountered him when Pontiae's spirits were
broken by reverses. They smoked the pipe of peace
together, and the colonel claimed the credit of having,
by his diplomacy, persuaded the sachem to bury the
hatchet.
On the day following the repast at the fort, Wash-
ington visited Croghan at his abode on the Allegany
River, where he found several of the chiefs of the Six
Nations assembled. One of them, the "White Mingo by
name, made him a speech, accompanied, as usual, by a
belt of wampum. Some of his companions, he said,
remembered to have seen him in 1753, when he came
on his embassy to the French commander; most of
them had heard of him. They had now come to wel-
come him to their country. They wished the people
of Virginia to consider them as friends and brothers,
linked together in one chain, and requested him to
mform the governor of their desire to live in peace and
harmony with the white men. As to certain unhappy
differences which had taken place between them on the
frontiers, they were all made up, and, they hoped, for-
gotten.
1770.] VOYAGE DOWN THE OHIO. 365
Washington accepted the " speech-belt," and made
a suitable reply, assuring the chiefs that nothing was
more desired by the people of Virginia than to live
with them on terms of the strictest friendship.
At Pittsburg the travellers left their horses, and
embarked in a large canoe, to make a voyage down the
Ohio as far as the Great Kanawha. Colonel Croghan
engaged two Indians for their service, and an inter-
preter named John Nicholson. The colonel and some
of the officers of the garrison accompanied them as far
as Logstown, the scene of Washington's early diplo-
macy, and his first interview with the half-king. Here
they breakfasted together ; after which they separated,
the colonel and his companions cheering the voyagers
from the shore, as the canoe was borne off by the cur-
rent of the beautiful Ohio.
It was now the hunting season, when the Indians
leave their towns, set off with their families, and lead a
roving life in cabins and hunting-camps along the
river ; shifting from place to place, as game abounds
or decreases, and often extending their migrations two
or three hundred miles down the stream. The women
were as dexterous as the men in the management of
the canoe, but were generally engaged in the domestic
labors of the lodge while their husbands were abroad
hunting.
Washington's propensities as a sportsman had here
full play. Deer were continually to be seen coming
down to the water's edge to drink, or browsing along
the shore ; there were innumerable flocks of wild tur-
keys, and streaming flights of ducks and geese; so
that as the voyagers floated along, they were enabled
366 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1770,
to load their canoe with game. At night they en-
camped on the river bank, lit their fire, and made a
sumptuous hunter's repast. Washington always rel-
ished this wild-wood life; and the present had that
spice of danger in it, which has a peculiar charm for
adventurous minds. The great object of his expedi-
tion, however, is evinced in his constant notes on the
features and character of the country ; the quality of
the soil as indicated by the nature of the trees, and
the level tracts fitted for settlements.
About seventy-five miles below Pittsburg the voy-
agers landed at a Mingo town, which they found in a
stir of warlike preparation — sixty of the warriors being
about to set off on a foray into the Cherokee country
against the Catawbas.
Here the voyagers were brought to a pause by a
report that two white men, traders, had been murdered
about thirty-eight miles further down the river. Re-
ports of the kind were not to be treated lightly.
Indian faith was uncertain along the frontier, and
white men were often shot down in the wilderness for
plunder or revenge. On the following day the report
moderated. Only one man was said to have been
killed, and that not by Indians ; so Washington deter-
mined to continue forward until he could obtain correct
information in the matter.
On the 24th, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the
voyagers arrived at Captema Creek, at the mouth of
which the trader was said to have been killed. As all
was quiet and no one to be seen, they agreed to en-
camp, while Nicholson the interpreter, and one of the
Indians, repaired to a village a few miles up the creek
1770.J kiashuta' s hunting camp. 367
to inquire about the murder. They found but two old
women at the village. The men were all absent, hunt-
ing. The interpreter returned to camp in the evening,
bringing the truth of the murderous tale. A trader
had fallen a victim to his temerity, having been drowned
in attempting, in company with another, to swim his
horse across the Ohio.
Two days more of voyaging brought them to an
Indian hunting camp, near the mouth of the Mus-
kingum. Here it was necessary to land and make a cere-
monious visit, for the chief of the hunting party was
Kiashuta, a Seneca sachem, the head of the river tribes.
He was noted to have been among the first to raise the
hatchet in Pontiac's conspiracy, and almost equally
vindictive with that potent warrior. As Washington
approached the chieftain, he recognized him for one of
the Indians who had accompanied him on his mission
to the French in 1753.
Kiashuta retained a perfect recollection of the
youthful ambassador, though seventeen years had ma-
tured him into thoughtful manhood. With hunter's
hospitality he gave him a quarter of a fine buffalo just
slain, but insisted that they should encamp together
for the night ; and in order not to retard him, moved
with his own party to a good camping place some dis-
tance down the river. Here they had long talks and
council-fires over night and in the morning, with all
the " tedious ceremony," says Washington, " which the
Indians observe in their councillings and speeches/'
Kiashuta had heard of what had passed between
Washington and the "White Mingo," and other
sachems, at Colonel Croghan's, and was eager to ex-
368 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1770.
press his own desire for peace and friendship with Vir-
ginia, and fair dealings with her traders; all which
Washington promised to report faithfully to the gov-
ernor. It was not until a late hour in the morning
that he was enabled to bring these conferences to a
close, and pursue his voyage.
At the mouth of the Great Kanawha, the voyagers
encamped for a day or two to examine the lands in the
neighborhood, and Washington set up his mark upon
such as he intended to claim on behalf of the soldiers'
grant. It was a fine sporting country, having small
lakes or grassy ponds abounding with water-fowl, such
as ducks, geese, and swans. Flocks of turkeys, as
usual ; and, for larger game, deer and buffalo ; so that
their camp abounded with provisions.
Here Washington was visited by an old sachem,
who approached him with great reverence, at the head
of several of his tribe, and addressed him through
Nicholson, the interpreter. He had heard, he said, of
his being in that part of the country, and had come
from a great distance to see him. On further dis-
course, the sachem made known that he was one of
the warriors in the service of the French, who lay in
ambush on the banks of the Monongahela, and
wrought such havoc in Braddock's army. He de-
clared that he and his young men had singled out
Washington, as he made himself conspicuous riding
about the field of battle with the general's orders, and
had fired at him repeatedly, but without success ;
whence they had concluded that he was under the pro-
tection of the Great Spirit, had a charmed life, and
could not be slain in battle.
1770.] HAZARDS OF THE VOYAGE. 369
At the Great Kanawha Washington's expedition
down the Ohio terminated; having visited all the
points he wished to examine. His return to Port Pitt,
and thence homeward, affords no incident worthy of
note. The whole expedition, however, was one of that
hardy and adventurous kind, mingled with practical
purposes, in which he delighted. This winter voyage
down the Ohio in a canoe, with the doctor for a com-
panion and two Indians for crew, through regions yet
insecure from the capricious hostility of prowling sav-
ages, is not one of the least striking of his frontier
" experiences/' The hazardous nature of it was made
apparent shortly afterwards by another outbreak of the
Ohio tribes ; one of its bloodiest actions took place on
the very banks of the Great Kanawha, in which Colonel
Lewis and a number of brave Virginians lost their
lives.
NOTE.
In the final adjustment of claims under Governor Dinwiddie's pro-
clamation, Washington, acting on behalf of the officers and soldiers,
obtained grants for the lands he had marked out in the course of his
visit to the Ohio. Fifteen thousand acres were awarded to a field-
officer, nine thousand to a captain, six thousand to a subaltern, and so
on. Among the claims which he entered were those of Stobo and
Van Braam, the hostages in the capitulation at the Great Meadows.
After many vicissitudes they were now in London, and nine thousand
acres were awarded to each of them. Their domains were ultimately
purchased by Washington through his London agent.
Another claimant was Colonel George Muse, Washington's early
instructor in military science. His claim was admitted with difficulty,
for he stood accused of having acted the part of a poltroon in the
campaign, and Washington seems to have considered the charge well
founded. Still he appears to have been dissatisfied with the share of
land assigned him, and to have written to Washington somewhat
rudely on the subject. His letter is not extant, but we subjoin Wash-
vol. I.— 24
370 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1773.
ington's reply almost entire, as a specimen of the caustic pen he could
wield under a mingled emotion of scorn and indignation.
"Sir, — Your impertinent letter was delivered to me yesterday.
As I am not accustomed to receive such from any man, nor would have
taken the same language from you personally, without letting you feel
some marks of my resentment, I advise you to be cautious in writing
me a second of the same tenor; for though I understand you were
drunk when you did it, yet give me leave to tell you that drunken-
ness is no excuse for rudeness. But for your stupidity and sottishness
you might have known, by attending to the public gazette, that you
had your full quantity of ten thousand acres of land allowed you ;
that is, nine thousand and seventy-three acres in the great tract, and
the remainder in the small tract.
" But suppose you had really fallen short, do you think your su-
perlative merit entitles you to greater indulgence than others ? Or,
if it did, that I was to make it good to you, when it was at the option
of the governor and council to allow but five hundred acres in the
whole, if they had been so inclined ? If either of these should happen
to be your opinion, I am very well convinced that you will be singu-
lar in it ; and all my concern is that I ever engaged myself in behalf
of so ungrateful and dirty a fellow as you are."
N". B. — The above is from the letter as it exists in the archives of
the Department of State at Washington. It differs in two or three
particulars from that published among Washington's writings.
CHAPTER XXXII.
LOED DUNMOEE GOVERNOE OF VIRGINIA — PIQUES THE PBIDE OF THE VIR-
GINIANS — OPPOSITION OF THE ASSEMBLY — OOE RESPONDING COMMITTEES
— DEATH OF MISS CUSTIS — WASHINGTON'S GUAEDIANSHIP OF JOHN
PAEKE CUSTIS — HIS OPINIONS AS TO PREMATURE TRAVEL AND PEEMA-
TURE MAERIAGE.
The discontents of Virginia, which had been partially
soothed by the amiable administration of Lord Bote-
tourt, were irritated anew under his successor, the Earl
of Dunmore. This nobleman had for a short time
held the government of New York. When appointed
to that of Virginia, he lingered for several months at
his former post. In the mean time, he sent his military
secretary, Captain Toy, to attend to the despatch of
business until his arrival; awarding to him a salary
and fees to be paid by the colony.
The pride of the Virginians was piqued at his lin-
gering at New York, as if he preferred its gayety and
luxury to the comparative quiet and simplicity of
Williamsburg. Their pride was still more piqued on
his arrival, by what they considered haughtiness on his
part. The spirit of the "Ancient Dominion " was
372 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1773.
roused, and his lordship experienced opposition at his
very outset.
The first measure of the Assembly, at its opening,
was to demand by what right he had awarded a salary
and fees to his secretary without consulting it ; and to
question whether it was authorized by the crown.
His lordship had the good policy to rescind the un-
authorized act, and in so doing mitigated the ire of the
Assembly ; but he lost no time in proroguing a body,
which, from various symptoms, appeared to be too in-
dependent, and disposed to be untractable.
He continued to prorogue it from time to time,
seeking in the interim to conciliate the Virginians, and
soothe their irritated pride. At length, after repeated
prorogations, he was compelled by circumstances to
convene it on the 1st of March, 1773.
Washington was prompt in his attendance on the
occasion ; and foremost among the patriotic members,
who eagerly availed themselves of this long wished for
opportunity to legislate upon the general affairs of the
colonies. One of their most important measures was
the appointment of a committee of eleven persons,
" whose business it should be to obtain the most clear
and authentic intelligence of all such acts and resolu-
tions of the British Parliament, or proceedings of ad-
ministration, as may relate to or affect the British
colonies, and to maintain with their sister colonies a
correspondence and communication."
The plan thus proposed by their "noble, patriotic
sister colony of Virginia," * was promptly adopted by
* Boston Town Records.
1773.] DEATH OF MISS CUSTIS. 373
the people of Massachusetts, and soon met with gene-
ral concurrence. These corresponding committees, in
effect, became the executive power of the patriot party,
producing the happiest concert of design and action
throughout the colonies.
Notwithstanding the decided part taken by Wash-
ington in the popular movement, very friendly relations
existed between him and Lord Dunmore. The latter
appreciated his character, and sought to avail himself
of his experience in the affairs of the province. It
was even concerted that Washington should accompany
his lordship on an extensive tour, which the latter
intended to make in the course of the summer along
the western frontier. A melancholy circumstance oc-
curred to defeat this arrangement.
We have spoken of Washington's paternal conduct
towards the two children of Mrs. Washington. The
daughter, Miss Custis, had long been an object of ex-
treme solicitude. She was of a fragile constitution,
and for some time past had been in very declining health.
Early in the present summer, symptoms indicated a
rapid change for the worse. Washington was absent
from home at the time. On his return to Mount Ver-
non, he found her in the last stage of consumption.
Though not a man given to bursts of sensibility, he
is said on the present occasion to have evinced the
deepest affliction ; kneeling by her bedside, and pour-
ing out earnest prayers for her recovery. She expired
on the 19th of June, in the seventeenth year of her
age. This, of course, put an end to Washington's
intention of accompanying Lord Dunmore to the fron-
tier ; he remained at home to console Mrs. Washing-
374 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1773.
ton in her affliction, — furnishing his lordship, however,
with travelling hints and directions, and recommending
proper guides. And here we will take occasion to give
a few brief particulars of domestic affairs at Mount
Vernon.
For a long time previous to the death of Miss
Custis, her mother, despairing of her recovery, had
centered her hopes in her son, John Parke Custis.
This rendered Washington's guardianship of him a
delicate and difficult task. He was lively, susceptible
and impulsive ; had an independent fortune in his own
right, and an indulgent mother, ever ready to plead in
his behalf against wholesome discipline. He had been
placed under the care and instruction of an Episcopal
clergyman at Annapolis, but was occasionally at home,
mounting his horse, and taking a part, while yet a boy,
in the fox-hunts at Mount Vernon. His education had
consequently been irregular and imperfect, and not
such as Washington would have enforced had he pos-
sessed over him the absolute authority of a father.
Shortly after the return of the latter from his tour to
the Ohio, he was concerned to find that there was an
idea entertained of sending the lad abroad, though but
little more than sixteen years of age, to travel under
the care of his clerical tutor. Through his judicious
interference, the travelling scheme was postponed, and
it was resolved to give the young gentleman's mind the
benefit of a little preparatory home culture.
Little more than a year elapsed before the sallying
impulses of the youth had taken a new direction. He
was in love ; what was more, he was engaged to the
1773.] EARLY TRAVEL AND EARLY MARRIAGE. 375
object of his passion, and on the high road to matri-
mony.
Washington now opposed himself to premature
marriage as he had done to premature travel. A cor-
respondence ensued between him and the young lady's
father, Benedict Calvert, Esq. The match was a satis-
factory one to all parties, but it was agreed, that it was
expedient for the youth to pass a year or two previously
at college. Washington accordingly accompanied him
to New York, and placed him under the care of the
Rev. Dr. Cooper, president of King's (now Columbia)
College, to pursue his studies in that institution. All
this occurred before the death of his sister. Within a
year after that melancholy event, he became impatient
for a union with the object of his choice. His mother,
now more indulgent than ever to this, her only child,
yielded her consent, and Washington no longer made
opposition.
" It has been against my wishes," writes the latter
to President Cooper, " that he should quit college in
order that he may soon enter into a new scene of life,
which I think he would be much fitter for some years
hence than now. But having his own inclination, the
desires of his mother, and the acquiescence of almost all
his relatives to encounter, I did not care, as he is the
last of the family, to push my opposition too far; I
have, therefore, submitted to a kind of necessity."
The marriage was celebrated on the 3d of Febru-
ary, 1774, before the bridegroom was twenty-one years
of age.
376 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1773.
NOTE.
We are induced to subjoin extracts of two letters from Washington
relative to young Custis. The first gives his objections to premature
travel ; the second to premature matrimony. Both are worthy of
consideration in this country, where our young people have such a
general disposition to " go ahead."-
To the reverend Jonathan Boucher (the tutor of young Custis).
* * * * ccj canno t help giving it as my opinion, that
his education, however advanced it may be for a youth of his
age, is by no means ripe enough for a travelling tour ; not that I
think his becoming a mere scholar is a desirable education for a gen-
tleman, but I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which
all other knowledge is to be built, and in travelling he is to become
acquainted with men and things, rather than books. At present,
however well versed he may be in the principles of the Latin language
(which is not to be wondered at, as he began the study of it as soon
as he could speak), he is unacquainted with several of the classic
authors that might be useful to him. He is ignorant of Greek, the
advantages of learning which I do not pretend to judge of; and he
knows nothing of French, which is absolutely necessary to him as a
traveller. He has little or no acquaintance with arithmetic, and is
totally ignorant of the mathematics — than which, at least, so much
of them as relates to surveying, nothing can be more essentially
necessary to any man possessed of a large landed estate, the bounds of
some part or other of which are always in controversy. Now,
whether he has time between this and next spring to acquire a suffi-
cient knowledge of these studies, I leave you to judge ; as, also,
whether a boy of seventeen years old (which will be his age next No-
vember), can have any just notions of the end and design of travel-
ling. I have already given it as my opinion that it would be
precipitating this event, unless he were to go immediately to the
university for a couple of years ; in which case he could see nothing
of America ; which might be a disadvantage to him, as it is to be
expected that every man, who travels with a view of observing the
laws and customs of other countries, should be able to give some
description of the situation and government of his own."
The following are extracts from the letter to Benedict Calvert,
Esq., the young lady's father:
" I write to you on a subject of importance, and of no small em
barrassment to me. My son-in-law and ward, Mr. Custis, has, as I
L773.] EARLY MARRIAGE. 377
have been informed, paid his addresses to your second daughter ; and
having made some progress in her affections, has solicited her in mar-
riage. How far a union of this sort may be agreeable to you, you
best can tell ; but I should think myself wanting in candor, were 1
not to confess that Miss Nelly's amiable qualities are acknowledged
on all hands, and that an alliance with your family will be pleasing
to his.
" This acknowledgment being made, you must permit me to add,
sir, that at this, or in any short time, his youth, inexperience, and
unripened education are, and will be, insuperable obstacles, in my
opinion, to the completion of the marriage. As his guardian, I con-
ceive it my indispensable duty to endeavor to carry him through a
regular course of education (many branches of which, I am sorry
to say, he is totally deficient in), and to guide his youth to a more
advanced age, before an event, on which his own peace and the hap-
piness of another are to depend, takes place. * * * If the affec-
tion which they have avowed for each other is fixed upon a solid
basis, it will receive no diminution in the course of two or three
years; in which time he may prosecute his studies, and thereby
render himself more deserving of the lady, and useful to society. If,
unfortunately, as they are both young, there should be an abatement
of affection on either side, or both, it had better precede than follow
marriage.
" Delivering my sentiments thus freely, will not, I hope, lead you
into a belief that I am desirous of breaking off the match. To post-
pone it is all I have in view ; for I shall recommend to the young
gentleman, with the warmth that becomes a man of honor, to con-
sider himself as much engaged to your daughter, as if the indissolu-
ble knot were tied ; and as the surest means of effecting this, to
apply himself closely to his studies, by which he will, in a great
measure, avoid those little flirtations with other young ladies, that
may, by dividing the attention, contribute not a little to divide the
affection."
CHAPTER XXXIII.
LORD NOETH's BILL FAVORING THE EXPOETATION OF TEAS — SHIPS
FEEIGHTED WITH TEA TO THE COLONIES — SENT BACK FEOM SOME OF
THE POETS — TEA DESTROYED AT BOSTON — PASSAGE OF THE BOSTON
POET BILL — SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES — SPLENDID OPENING
— BURST OF INDIGNATION AT THE POET BILL — HOUSE DISSOLVED — EE-
SOLUTIONS AT THE EALEIGH TAVEEN — PEOJEOT OF A GENEEAL CON-
GBESS — WASHINGTON AND LOED DUNMOEE — THE POET BLLL GOES INTO
EFFECT — GENEEAL GAGE AT BOSTON — LEAGUE AND COVENANT.
The general covenant throughout the colonies against
the use of taxed tea, had operated disastrously against
the interests of the East India Company, and produced
an immense accumulation of the proscribed article in
their warehouses. To remedy this, Lord North brought
in a bill (1773), by which the company were allowed
to export their teas from England to any part what-
ever, without paying export duty. This, by enabling
them to offer their teas at a low price in the colonies,
would, he supposed, tempt the Americans to purchase
large quantities, thus relieving the company, and at
the same time benefiting the revenue by the impost
duty. Confiding in the wisdom of this policy, the
company disgorged their warehouses, freighted several
1773.] . DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA. 379
ships with tea, and sent them to various parts of the
colonies. This brought matters to a crisis. One senti-
ment, one determination, pervaded the whole continent.
Taxation was to receive its definitive blow. Who-
ever submitted to it was an enemy to his country.
From New York and Philadelphia the ships were sent
back, unladen, to London. In Charleston the tea was
unloaded, and stored away in cellars and other places,
where it perished. At Boston the action was still more
decisive. The ships anchored in the harbor. Some
small parcels of tea were brought on shore, but the
sale of them was prohibited. The captains of the
ships, seeing the desperate state of the case, would
have made sail back for England, but they could not
obtain the consent of the consignees, a clearance at the
custom-house, or a passport from the governor to clear
the fort. It was evident the tea was to be forced upon
the people of Boston, and the principle of taxation
established.
To settle the matter completely, and prove that, on
a point of principle, they were not to be trifled with, a
number of the inhabitants, disguised as Indians, board-
ed the ships in the night (18th December), broke open
all the chests of tea, and emptied the contents into the
sea. This was no rash and intemperate proceeding of
a mob, but the well-considered, though resolute act of
sober respectable citizens, men of reflection, but deter-
mination. The whole was done calmly, and in perfect
order; after which the actors in the scene dispersed
without tumult, and returned quietly to their homes.
The general opposition of the colonies to the prin-
ciple of taxation had given great annoyance to govern-
380 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
tnent, but this individual act concentrated all its wrath
upon Boston. A bill was forthwith passed in Parlia-
ment (commonly called the Boston port bill), by which
all lading and unlading of goods, wares, and merchan-
dise, were to cease in that town and harbor, on and
after the 4th of June, and the officers of the customs
to be transferred to Salem.
Another law, passed soon after, altered the charter
of the province, decreeing that all counsellors, judges,
and magistrates, should be appointed by the crown,
and hold office during the royal pleasure.
This was followed by a third, intended for the sup-
pression of riots; and providing that any person in-
dicted for murder, or other capital offence, committed
in aiding the magistracy, might be sent by the gov-
ernor to some other colony, or to Great Britain, for
trial.
Such was the bolt of Parliamentary wrath fulmi-
nated against the devoted town of Boston. Before it
fell there was a session in May, of the Virginia House
of Burgesses. The social position of Lord Dunmore
had been strengthened in the province by the arrival
of his lady, and a numerous family of sons and daugh-
ters. The old Virginia aristocracy had vied with each
other in hospitable attentions to the family. A court
circle had sprung up. Regulations had been drawn
up by a herald, and published officially, determining
the rank and precedence of civil and military officers,
and their wives. The aristocracy of the "Ancient Do-
minion" was furbishing up its former splendor. Car-
riages and four rolled into the streets of Williamsburg,
with horses handsomely caparisoned, bringing the
1774.] HOUSE or BURGESSES. 381
wealthy planters and their families to the seat of gov-
ernment.
Washington arrived in Williamsburg on the 16th,
and dined with the governor on the day of his arrival,
having a distinguished position in the court circle, and
being still on terms of intimacy with his lordship.
The House of Burgesses was opened in form, and one
of its first measures was an address of congratulation
to the governor, on the arrival of his lady. It was*
followed up by an agreement among the members to
give her ladyship a splendid ball, on the 27th of the
month.
All things were going on smoothly and smilingly,
when a letter, received through the corresponding com-
mittee, brought intelligence of the vindictive measure
of Parliament, by which the port of Boston was to be
closed on the approaching 1st of June.
The letter was read in the House of Burgesses, and
produced a general burst of indignation. All other
business was thrown aside, and this became the sole
subject of discussion. A protest against this and other
recent acts of Parliament was entered upon the journal
of the House, and a resolution was adopted, on the
24th of May, setting apart the 1st of June as a day of
fasting, prayer, and humiliation ; in which the divine
interposition was to be implored, to avert the heavy
calamity threatening destruction to their rights, and all
the evils of civil war ; and to give the people one heart
and one mind in firmly opposing every injury to Amer-
ican liberties.
On the following morning, while the Burgesses
were engaged in animated debate, they were sum-
382 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774,
nioned to attend Lord Dunmore in the council cham-
ber, where he made them the following laconic speech :
" Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Bur-
gesses : I have in my hand a paper, published by order
of your House, conceived in such terms, as reflect
highly upon his majesty, and the Parliament of Great
Britain, which makes it necessary for me to dissolve
you, and you are dissolved accordingly."
As on a former occasion, the Assembly, though dis-
solved, was not dispersed. The members adjourned to
the long room of the old Raleigh tavern, and passed reso-
lutions, denouncing the Boston port bill as a most dan-
gerous attempt to destroy the constitutional liberty
and rights of all North America ; recommending their
countrymen to desist from the use, not merely of tea,
but of all kinds of East Indian commodities; pro-
nouncing an attack on one of the colonies, to enforce
arbitrary taxes, an attack on all; and ordering the
committee of correspondence to communicate with the
other corresponding committees, on the expediency of
appointing deputies from the several colonies of British
America, to meet annually in General Congress, at
such place as might be deemed expedient, to deliberate
on such measures as the united interests of the colonies
might require.
This was the first recommendation of a General
Congress by any public assembly, though it had been
previously proposed in town meetings at New York
and Boston. A resolution to the same effect was
passed in the Assembly of Massachusetts before it was
aware of the proceedings of the Virginia Legislature.
The measure recommended met with prompt and gen-
1774.J PROJECT OF A GENERAL LEAGUE. 383
eral concurrence throughout the colonies, and the fifth
day of September next ensuing was fixed upon for the
meeting of the first Congress, which was to be held at
Philadelphia.
Notwithstanding Lord Dunmore's abrupt dissolu-
tion of the House of Burgesses, the members still con-
tinued on courteous terms with him, and the ball which
they had decreed early in the session in honor of Lady
Dunmore, was celebrated on the 27th with unwavering
gallantry.
As to Washington, widely as he differed from Lord
Dunmore on important points of policy, his intimacy
with him remained uninterrupted. By memorandums
in his diary, it appears that he dined and passed the
evening at his lordship's on the 25th, the very day of
the meeting at the Raleigh tavern. That he rode out
with him to his farm, and breakfasted there with him
on the 26th, and on the evening of the 27th attended
the ball given to her ladyship. Such was the well-bred
decorum that seemed to quiet the turbulence of popu-
lar excitement, without checking the full and firm ex-
pression of popular opinion.
On the 29th, two days after the ball, letters arrived
from Boston giving the proceedings of a town meeting,
recommending that a general league should be formed
throughout the colonies suspending all trade with Great
Britain. But twenty-five members of the late House
of Burgesses, including Washington, were at that time
remaining in Williamsburg. They held a meeting on
the following day, at which Peyton Randolph presided
as moderator. After some discussion, it was deter-
mined to issue a printed circular, bearing their signa-
384 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774
tures, and calling a meeting of all the members of the
late House of Burgesses, on the 1st of August, to take
mto consideration this measure of a general league.
The circular recommended them, also, to collect, in the
mean time, the sense of their respective counties.
Washington was still at Williamsburg on the 1st
of June, the day when the port bill was to be enforced
at Boston. It was ushered in by the tolling of bells,
and observed by all true patriots as a day of fasting
and humiliation. Washington notes in his diary that
he fasted rigidly, and attended the services appointed
in the church. Still his friendly intercourse with the
Dunmore family was continued during the remainder
of his sojourn in Williamsburg, where he was detained
by business until the 20th, when he set out on his re-
turn to Mount Vernon.
In the mean time the Boston port bill had been
carried into effect. On the 1st of June, the harbor of
Boston was closed at noon, and all business ceased.
The two other parliamentary acts altering the charter
of Massachusetts were to be enforced. No public
meetings, excepting the annual town meetings in
March and May, were to be held without permission
of the governor.
General Thomas Gage had recently been appointed
to the military command of Massachusetts, and the
carrying out of these offensive acts. He was the same
officer who, as lieutenant-colonel, had led the advance
guard on the field of Braddock's defeat. Fortune had
since gone well with him. Rising in the service, he
had been governor of Montreal, and had succeeded
Amherst in the command of the British forces on this
1774.] GENERAL GAGE AT BOSTON. 385
continent. He was linked to the country also by
domestic ties, having married into one of the most
respectable families of New Jersey. In the various
situations in which he had hitherto been placed he had
won esteem, and rendered himself popular. Not much
was expected from him in his present post by those
who knew him well. William Smith, the historian,
speaking of him to Adams, " Gage," said he, " was a
good-natured, peaceable, sociable man while here (in
New York), but altogether unfit for a governor of
Massachusetts. He will lose all the character he has
acquired as a man, a gentleman, and a general, and
dwindle down into a mere scribbling governor — a
mere Bernard or Hutchinson."
With all Gage's experience in America, he had
formed a most erroneous opinion of the character of
the people. "The Americans," said he to the king,
" will be lions only as long as the English are lambs ; "
and he engaged, with five regiments, to keep Boston
quiet !
The manner in which his attempts to enforce the
recent acts of Parliament were resented, showed how
egregiously he was in error. At the suggestion of the
Assembly, a paper was circulated through the province
by the committee of correspondence, entitled " a solemn
league and covenant," the subscribers to which bound
themselves to break off all intercourse with Great Bri-
tain from the 1st of August, until the colony should be
restored to the enjoyment of its chartered rights ; and
to renounce all dealings wijh those who should refuse
to enter into this compact.
The very title of league and covenant had an omi-
vol. i. — 25
386 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774
nous sound, and startled General Gage. He issued a
proclamation, denouncing it as illegal and traitorous.
Furthermore, he encamped a force of infantry and
artillery on Boston Common, as if prepared to enact
the lion. An alarm spread through the adjacent coun-
try. " Boston is to be blockaded ! Boston is to be
reduced to obedience by force or famine ! " The spirit
of the yeomanry was aroused. They sent in word to
the inhabitants promising to come to their aid if neces-
sary ; and urging them to stand fast to the faith. Affairs
were coming to a crisis. It was predicted that the new
acts of Parliament would bring on "a most important
and decisive trial. ,,
CHAPTER XXXIV.
WASHINGTON OHAIEMAN OF A POLITICAL MEETING COBEESPONDENOE
WITH BETAN FAIEFAX — PATEIOTIO EESOLUTIONS — WASHINGTON'S
OPINIONS ON PUBLIC AFFAIES — NON-IMPOBTATION SCHEME — CONVEN-
TION AT WILLIAMSBUEG WASHINGTON APPOINTED A DELEGATE TO
THE GENEEAL CONGE ESS — LETTEE FEOM BEY AN FAIEFAX — PEE-
PLEXITIES OF GENEEAL GAGE AT BOSTON.
Shortly after Washington's return to Mount Vernon,
in the latter part of June, he presided as moderator at
a meeting of the inhabitants of Fairfax County, where-
in, after the recent acts of Parliament had been dis-
cussed, a committee was appointed, with himself as
chairman, to draw up resolutions expressive of the sen-
timents of the present meeting, and to report the same
at a general meeting of the county, to be held in the
court-house on the 18th of July.
The course that public measures were taking,
shocked the loyal feelings of Washington's valued
friend, Bryan Fairfax, of Tarlston Hall, a younger
brother of George William, who was absent in Eng-
land. He was a man of liberal sentiments, but at-
tached to the ancient rule ; and, in a letter to Wash-
ington, advised a petition to the throne, which would
388 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
give Parliament an opportunity to repeal the offensive
acts.
" I would heartily join you in your political senti-
ments," writes Washington in reply, " as far as relates
to a humble and dutiful petition to the throne, pro-
vided there was the most distant hope of success.
But have we not tried this already? Have we not
addressed the Lords, and remonstrated to the Com-
mons? And to what end? Does it not appear as
clear as the sun in its meridian brightness, that there is
a regular, systematic plan to fix the right and practice
of taxation upon us? ***** Is not the
attack upon the liberty and property of the people of
Boston, before restitution of the loss to the India Com-
pany was demanded, a plain and self-evident proof of
what they are aiming at ? Do not the subsequent bills
for depriving the Massachusetts Bay of its charter, and
for transporting offenders to other colonies or to Great
Britain for trial, where it is impossible, from the nature
of things, that justice can be obtained, convince us that
the administration is determined to stick at nothing to
carry its point ? Ought we not, then, to put our vir-
tue and fortitude to the severest tests ? "
The committee met according to appointment, with
Washington as chairman. The resolutions framed at
the meeting insisted, as usual, on the right of self-gov-
ernment, and the principle that taxation and represen-
tation were in their nature inseparable. That the
various acts of Parliament for raising revenue ; taking
away trials by jury ; ordering that persons might be
tried in a different country from that in which the
cause of accusation originated; closing the port of
1774.] RESOLUTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE. 389
Boston ; abrogating the charter of Massachusetts Bay,
&c., &c., — were all part of a premeditated design and
system to introduce arbitrary government into the colo-
nies. That the sudden and repeated dissolutions of
Assemblies whenever they presumed to examine the
illegality of ministerial mandates, or deliberated on the
violated rights of their constituents, were part of the
same system, and calculated and intended to drive the
people of the colonies to a state of desperation, and to
dissolve the compact by which their ancestors bound
themselves and their posterity to remain dependent on
the British brown. The resolutions, furthermore, re-
commended the most perfect union and co-operation
among the colonies ; solemn covenants with respect to
non-importation and non-intercourse, and a renunciation
of all dealings with any colony, town, or province, that
should refuse to agree to the plan adopted by the Gen-
eral Congress.
They also recommended a dutiful petition and
remonstrance from the Congress to the king, asserting
their constitutional rights and privileges; lamenting
the necessity of entering into measures that might be
displeasing ; declaring their attachment to his person,
family, and government, and their desire to continue in
dependence upon Great Britain; beseeching him not
to reduce his faithful subjects of America to despera-
tion, and to reflect, that from our sovereign there can
be but one appeal.
These resolutions are the more worthy of note, as
expressive of the opinions and feelings of Washington
at this eventful time, if not being entirely dictated by
390 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
him. The last sentence is of awful import, suggesting
the possibility of being driven to an appeal to arms.
Bryan Fairfax, who was aware of their purport,
addressed a long letter to Washington, on the 17th of
July, the day preceding that in which they were to be
reported by the committee, stating his objections to
several of them, and requesting that his letter might
be publicly read. The letter was not received until
after the committee had gone to the court-house on the
18th, with the resolutions revised, corrected, and ready
to be reported. Washington glanced over the letter
hastily, and handed it round to several of the gentle-
men present. They, with one exception, advised that
it should not be publicly read, as it was not likely
to make any converts, and was repugnant, as some
thought, to every principle they were contending for.
Washington forbore, therefore, to give it any further
publicity.
The resolutions reported by the committee were
adopted, and Washington was chosen a delegate to
represent the county at the General Convention of the
province, to be held at Williamsburg on the 1st of
August. After the meeting had adjourned, he felt
doubtful whether Fairfax might not be dissatisfied
that his letter had not been read, as he requested, to
the county at large; he wrote to him, therefore, ex-
plaining the circumstances which prevented it ; at the
same time replying to some of the objections which
Fairfax had made to certain of the resolutions. He
reiterated his belief that an appeal would be ineffect-
ual. " What is it we are contending against ? " asked
he ; "Is it against paying the duty of threepence per
1774.] LETTER TO BRYAN FAIRFAX. 391
pound on tea because burdensome? No, it is the
right only, that we have all along disputed; and to
this end, we have already petitioned his majesty in as
humble and dutiful a manner as subjects could do.
Nay, more, we applied to the House of Lords and
House of Commons in their different legislative capaci-
ties, setting forth that, as Englishmen, we could not be
deprived of this essential and valuable part of our con-
stitution. *****
"The conduct of the Boston people could not
justify the rigor of their measures, unless there had
been a requisition of payment, and refusal of it ; nor
did that conduct require an act to deprive the govern-
ment of Massachusetts Bay of their charter, or to exempt
offenders from trial in the places where offences were
committed, as there was not, nor could there be, a sin-
gle instance produced to manifest the necessity of it.
Are not all these things evident proofs of a fixed and
uniform plan to tax us ? If we want further proofs,
do not all the debates in th$ House of Commons serve
to confirm this ? And has not General Gage's conduct
since his arrival, in stopping the address of his council,
and publishing a proclamation, more becoming a Turk-
ish bashaw than an English governor, declaring it trea-
son to associate in any manner by which the commerce
of Great Britain is to be affected, — has not this exhib-
ited an unexampled testimony of the most despotic sys-
tem of tyranny that ever was practised in a free gov-
ernment ? "
The popular measure on which Washington laid
the greatest stress as a means of obtaining redress
from government, was the non-importation scheme;
392 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. • [1774.
" for I am convinced," said he, " as much as of my
existence, that there is no relief for us but in their dis-
tress ; and I think — at least I hope — that there is pub-
lic virtue enough left among us to deny ourselves every
thing but the bare necessaries of life to, accomplish this
and." At the same time, he forcibly condemned a
suggestion that remittances to England should be with-
held. "While we are accusing others of injustice,"
said he, " we should be just ourselves ; and how this
can be whilst we owe a considerable debt, and refuse
payment of it to Great Britain, is to me inconceivable :
nothing but the last extremity can justify it."
On the 1st of August, the Convention of represen-
tatives from all parts of Virginia assembled at Wil-
liamsburg. Washington appeared on behalf of Fairfax
County, and presented the resolutions, already cited, as
the sense of his constituents. He is said, by one who
was present, to have spoken in support of them in a
strain of uncommon eloquence, which shows how his
latent ardor had been excited on the occasion, as elo-
quence was not in general among his attributes. It is
evident, however, that he was roused to an unusual
pitch of enthusiasm, for he is said to have declared that
he was ready to raise one thousand men, subsist them
at his own expense, and march at their head to the
relief of Boston.*
The Convention was six days in session. Resolu-
tions, in the same spirit with those passed in Fairfax
County, were adopted, and Peyton Randolph, Richard
Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Rich-
* See information given to the elder Adams, by Mr. Lynch of South
Carolina. — Adams's Diary.
1774.] LETTER FROM BRYAN FAIRFAX. 393
ard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendle-
ton, ware appointed delegates, to represent the people
of Virginia in the General Congress.
Shortly after Washington's return from Williams-
burg, he received a reply from Bryan Fairfax, to his
last letter. Fairfax, who was really a man of liberal
views, seemed anxious to vindicate himself from any
suspicions of the contrary. In adverting to the partial
suppression of his letter by some of the gentlemen of
the committee : "I am uneasy to find," writes he,
" that any one should look upon the letter sent down
as repugnant to the principles we are contending for ;
and, therefore, when you have leisure, I shall take it as
a favor if you will let me know wherein it was thought
so. I beg leave to look upon you as, a friend, and it is
a great relief to unbosom one's thoughts to a friend.
Besides, the information, and the correction of my
errors, which I«may obtain from a correspondence, are
great inducements to it. For I am convinced that no
man in the colony wishes its prosperity more, would go
greater lengths to serve it, or is, at the same time, a
better subject to the crown. Pray excuse these com-
pliments, they may be tolerable from a friend."*
The hurry of various occupations prevented Wash-
ington, in his reply, from entering into any further dis-
cussion of the popular theme. " I can only in general
add," said he, " that an innate spirit of freedom first
told me that the measures which the administration
have for some time been, and now are violently pursu-
ing, are opposed to every principle of natural justice;
* Sparks. Washington's Writings, vol. ii., p. 329.
394 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
whilst much abler heads than my own have fully con-
vinced me, that they are not only repugnant to natural
right, but subversive of the laws and constitution of
Great Britain itself. * * * * I shall conclude
with remarking that, if you disavow the right of Par-
liament to tax us, unrepresented as we are, we only
differ in the mode of opposition, and this difference
principally arises from your belief that they (the Par-
liament I mean), want a decent opportunity to repeal
the acts ; whilst I am fully convinced that there has
been a regular systematic plan to enforce them, and
that nothing but unanimity and firmness in the colo-
nies, which they did not expect, can prevent it. By
the best advices from Boston, it seems that General
Gage is exceedingly disconcerted at the quiet and
steady conduct of the people of the Massachusetts
Bay, and at the measures pursuing by the other gov-
ernments. I dare say he expected to force those op-
pressed people into compliance, or irritate them to acts
of violence before this, for a more colorable pretence of
ruling that, and the other colonies, with a high hand."
Washington had formed a correct opinion of the
position of General Gage. Prom the time of taking
command at Boston, he had been perplexed how to
manage its inhabitants. Had they been hot-headed,
impulsive, and prone to paroxysm, his task would have
been comparatively easy ; but it was the cool, shrewd
common sense, by which all their movements were re-
gulated, that confounded him.
High-handed measures had failed of the anticipated
effect. Their harbor had been thronged with ships ;
their town with troops. The port bill had put an end
L774.J TOWN MEETINGS KEPT ALIVE. 395
to commerce ; wharves were deserted, warehouses
closed ; streets grass-grown and silent. The rich were
growing poor, and the poor were without employ ; yet
the spirit of the people was unbroken. There was no
uproar, however; no riots; every thing was awfully
systematic and according to rule. Town meetings
were held, in which public rights and public measures
were eloquently discussed by John Adams, Josiah
Quincy, and other eminent men. Over these meet-
ings, Samuel Adams presided as moderator; a man
clear in judgment, calm in conduct, inflexible in reso-
lution ; deeply grounded in civil and political history,
and infallible on all points of constitutional law.
Alarmed at the powerful influence of these assem-
blages, government issued an act prohibiting them
after the 1st of August. The act was evaded by con-
voking the meetings before that day, and keeping them
alive indefinitely. Gage was at a loss how to act. It
would not do to disperse these assemblages by force of
arms ; for, the people who composed them mingled the
soldier with the polemic; and, like their prototypes,
the covenanters of yore, if prone to argue, were as
ready to fight. So the meetings continued to be held
pertinaciously. Paneuil Hall was at times unable to
hold them, and they swarmed from that revolutionary
hive into old South Church. The liberty tree became
a rallying place for any popular movement, and a flag
hoisted on it was saluted by all processions as the em-
blem of the popular cause.
Opposition to the new plan of government assumed
a more violent aspect at the extremity of the province,
and was abetted by Connecticut. " It is very high,"
396 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
writes Gage, (August 27th,) "in Berkshire County,
and makes way rapidly to the rest. At Worcester
they threaten resistance, purchase arms, provide pow-
der, cast balls, and threaten to attack any troops who
may oppose them. I apprehend I shall soon have to
march a body of troops into that township."
The time appointed for the meeting of the General
Congress at Philadelphia was now at hand. Delegates
had already gone on from Massachusetts. " It is not
possible to guess," writes Gage, " what a body com-
posed of such heterogeneous matter will determine;
but the members from hence, I am assured, will pro-
mote the most haughty and insolent resolves ; for their
plan has ever been, by threats and high-sounding sedi-
tion, to terrify and intimidate. ,,
CHAPTER XXXV.
meeting of the first congress — opening ceeemonies — eloquence of
patrick henry and heney lee — deolaeatoey resolution — bill
of eights — state papees— chatham's opinions of congress —
Washington's correspondence with capt. Mackenzie — views
with respect to independence — departure of fairfax for
ENGLAND.
When the time approached for the meeting of the
General Congress at Philadelphia, Washington was
joined at Monnt Vernon by Patrick Henry and Ed-
mund Pendleton, and they performed the journey to-
gether on horseback. It was a noble companionship.
Henry was then in the youthful vigor and elasticity of
his bounding genius; ardent, acute, fanciful, eloquent.
Pendleton, schooled in public life, a veteran in council,
with native force of intellect, and habits of deep reflec-
tion. Washington, in the meridian of his days, ma-
ture in wisdom, comprehensive in mind, sagacious in
foresight. Such were the apostles of liberty, repairing
on their august pilgrimage to Philadelphia from all
parts of the land, to lay the foundations of a mighty
empire. Well may we say of that eventful period,
" There were giants in those days."
398 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
Congress assembled on Monday, the 5th of Sep-
tember, in a large room in Carpenter's Hall. There
were fifty-one delegates, representing all the colonies
excepting Georgia.
The meeting has been described as " awfully sol-
emn." The most eminent men of the various colonies
were now for the first time brought together; they
were known to each other by fame, but were, person-
ally, strangers. The object which had called them
together, was of incalculable magnitude. The liberties
of no less than three millions of people, with that of
all their posterity, were staked on the wisdom and
energy of their councils.*
" It is such an assembly," writes John Adams, who
was present, " as never before came together on a sud-
den, in any part of the world. Here are fortunes,
abilities, learning, eloquence, acuteness, equal to any I
ever met with in my life. Here is a diversity of reli-
gions, educations, manners, interests, such as it would
seem impossible to unite in one plan of conduct."
There being an inequality in the number of dele-
gates from the different colonies, a question arose as to
the mode of voting; whether by colonies, or by the
poll, or by interests.
Patrick Henry scouted the idea of sectional distinc-
tions or individual interests. " All America," said he,
"is thrown into one mass. Where are your land-
marks — your boundaries of colonies? They are all
thrown down. The distinctions between Virginians,
Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders,
* Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, p. 224.
1774.] PRATERS IN CONGRESS. 399
are no more. / am not a Virginian, but an Ameri-
can."*
After some debate, it was determined that each
colony should have but one vote, whatever might be the
number of delegates. The deliberations of the House
were to be with closed doors, and nothing but the re-
solves promulgated, unless by order of the majority.
To give proper dignity and solemnity to the pro-
ceedings of the House, it was moved on the following
day, that each morning the session should be opened
by prayer. To this it was demurred, that as the dele-
gates were of different religious sects, they might not
consent to join in the same form of worship.
Upon this, Mr. Samuel Adams arose, and said :
" He would willingly join in prayer with any gentle-
man of piety and virtue, whatever might be his cloth,
provided he was a friend of his country;" and he
moved that the reverend Mr. Duche, of Philadelphia,
who answered to that description, might be invited to
officiate as chaplain. This was one step towards unan-
imity of feeling, Mr. Adams being a strong Congrega-
tionalist, and Mr. Duche an eminent Episcopalian cler-
gyman. The motion was carried into effect ; the invi-
tation was given and accepted.
In the course of the day, a rumor reached Phila-
delphia that Boston had been cannonaded by the Brit-
ish. It produced a strong sensation ; and when Con-
gress met on the following morning (7th), the effect
was visible in every countenance. The delegates from
the East were greeted with a warmer grasp of the hand
by their associates from the South.
* J. Adams' Diary.
400 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
The reverend Mr. Duche, according to invitation.,
appeared in his canonicals, attended by his clerk. The
morning service of the Episcopal church was read with
great solemnity, the clerk making the responses. The
Psalter for the 7th day of the month includes the 35th
Psalm, wherein David prays for protection against his
enemies.
" Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive
with me : fight against them that fight against me.
" Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up
for my help.
" Draw out, also, the spear, and stop the way of
them that persecute me. Say unto my soul, I am thy
salvation," &c, &c.
The imploring words of this psalm, spoke the feel-
ings of all hearts present ; but especially of those from
New England. John Adams writes in a letter to his
wife : " You must remember this was the morning after
we heard the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Bos-
ton. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience.
It seemed as if heaven had ordained that psalm to be
read on that morning. After this, Mr. Duche unex-
pectedly struck out into an extemporary prayer, which
filled the bosom of every man present. Episcopalian
as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such
fervor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, and in
language so eloquent and sublime, for America, for the
Congress, for the province of Massachusetts Bay, and
especially the town of Boston. It has had an excellent
effect upon every body here," *
* John Adams's Correspondence and Diary.
1774] OPENING OF THE FIRST CONGRESS. 401
It has been remarked that Washington was espe-
cially devout on this occasion — kneeling, while others
stood up. In this, however, each no doubt observed
the attitude in prayer to which he was accustomed.
Washington knelt, being an Episcopalian.
The rumored attack upon Boston/rendered the ser-
vice of the day deeply affecting to all present. They
were one political family, actuated by one feeling, and
sympathizing with the weal and woe of each individual
member. The rumor proved to be erroneous ; but it
had produced a most beneficial effect, in calling forth
and quickening the spirit of union, so vitally important
in that assemblage.
Owing to closed doors, and the want of reporters,
no record exists of the discussions and speeches made
in the first Congress. Mr. Wirt, speaking from tra-
dition, informs us that a long and deep silence followed
the organization of that august body; the members
looking round upon each other, individually reluctant
to open a business so fearfully momentous. This
"deep and deathlike silence" was beginning to be-
come painfully embarrassing, when Patrick Henry
arose. He faltered at first, as was his habit ; but his
exordium was impressive; and as he launched forth
into a recital of colonial wrongs, he kindled with his
subject, until he poured forth one of those eloquent
appeals which had so often shaken the House of Bur-
gesses, and gained him the fame of being the greatest
orator of Virginia. He sat down, according to Mr.
Wirt, amidst murmurs of astonishment and applause,
and was now admitted, on every hand, to be the first
orator of America. He was followed by Richard
vol i.— 26
402 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
Henry Lee, who, according to the same writer, charmed
the House with a different kind of eloquence, chaste
and classical ; contrasting, in its cultivated graces,
with the wild and grand effusions of Henry. "The
superior powers of these great men, however," adds
he, " were manifested only in debate, and while gen-
eral grievances were the topic ; when called down from
the heights of declamation to that severer test of intel-
lectual excellence, the details of business, they found
themselves in a body of cool-headed, reflecting, and
most able men, by whom they were, in their turn, com-
pletely thrown into the shade." *
The first public measure of Congress was a resolu-
tion, declaratory of their feelings with regard to the
recent acts of Parliament, violating the rights of the
people of Massachusetts, and of their determination to
combine in resisting any force that might attempt to
carry those acts into execution.
A committee of two from each province reported a
series of resolutions, which were adopted and promul-
gated by Congress, as a "declaration of colonial
rights." In this were enumerated their natural rights
to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property ; and
their rights as British subjects. Among the latter was
participation in legislative councils. This they could
not exercise through representatives in Parliament;
they claimed, therefore, the power of legislating in
their provincial Assemblies; consenting, however, to
such acts of Parliament as might be essential to the
* Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry.
1774.] DECLARATION OF COLONIAL RIGHTS. 403
regulation of trade ; but excluding all taxation, inter-
nal or external, for raising revenue in America.
The common law of England was claimed as a
birthright, including the right of trial by a jury of the
vicinage ; of holding public meetings to consider griev-
ances ; and of petitioning the king. The benefits of
all such statutes as existed at the time of the coloniza-
tion were likewise claimed ; together with the immuni-
ties and privileges granted by royal charters, or secured
by provincial laws.
The maintenance of a standing army in any colony
in time of peace, without the consent of its Legislature,
was pronounced contrary to law. The exercise of the
legislative power in the colonies by a council appointed
during pleasure by the crown, was declared to be un-
constitutional, and destructive to the freedom of Ameri-
can legislation.
Then followed a specification of the acts of Parlia-
ment, passed during the reign of George III., infring-
ing and violating these rights. These were : The sugar
act ; the stamp act ; the two acts for quartering troops ;
the tea act ; the act suspending the New York Legisla-
ture; the two acts for the trial in Great Britain of
offences committed in America ; the Boston port bill ;
the act for regulating the government of Massachusetts,
and the Quebec act.
"To these grievous acts and measures," it was
added, "Americans cannot submit ; but in hopes their
fellow-subjects in Great Britain will, on a revision of
them, restore us to that state in which both countries
found happiness and prosperity, we have, for the pres-
ent, only resolved to pursue the following peaceable
measures :
404 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
"1st. To enter into a non-importation, non-con-
sumption, and non-exportation agreement, or association.
"2d. To prepare an address to the people of Great
Britain, and a memorial to the inhabitants of British
America.
" 3d. To prepare a loyal address to his majesty."
The above-mentioned association was accordingly
formed, and committees were to be appointed in every
county, city, and town, to maintain it vigilantly and
strictly.
Masterly state papers were issued by Congress in
conformity to the resolutions : viz., a petition to the
king, drafted by Mr. Dickinson, of Philadelphia ; an
address to the people of Canada by the same hand,
inviting them to join the league of the colonies ;
another to the people of Great Britain, drafted by
John Jay, of New York ; and a memorial to the inhab-
itants of the British colonies by Richard Henry Lee,
of Virginia.*
The Congress remained in session fifty-one days.
Every subject, according to Adams, was discussed
" with a moderation, an acuteness, and a minuteness
equal to that of Queen Elizabeth's privy council."f
The papers issued by it, have deservedly been pro-
nounced masterpieces of practical talent and political
wisdom. Chatham, when speaking on the subject in
the House of Lords, could not restrain his enthusiasm.
" When your lordships," said he, " look at the papers
transmitted to us from America; when you consider
* See Correspondence and Diary of J. Adams, vols. ii. and ix.
♦ Letter to William Tudor, 29th Sept., 1114,
1774.] MASTERLY STATE PAPERS. 405
their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but
respect their cause, and wish to make it your own.
For myself, I must declare and avow that, in the mas-
ter states of the world, I know not the people, or sen-
ate, who, in such a complication of difficult circum-
stances, can stand in preference to the delegates of
America assembled in General Congress at Philadel-
phia."
From the secrecy that enveloped its discussions, we
are ignorant of the part taken by Washington in the
debates ; the similarity of the resolutions, however, in
spirit and substance, to those of the Fairfax County
meeting, in which he presided, and the coincidence of
the measures adopted with those therein recommended,
show that he had a powerful agency in the whole pro-
ceedings of this eventful assembly. Patrick Henry,
being asked, on his return home, whom he considered
the greatest man in Congress, replied : " If you speak
of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, is by
far the greatest orator ; but if you speak of solid in-
formation and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is
unquestionably the greatest man on that floor."
How thoroughly and zealously he participated in
the feelings which actuated Congress in this memorable
session, may be gathered from his correspondence with
a friend enlisted in the royal cause. This was Captain
Robert Mackenzie, who had formerly served under him
in his Virginia regiment during the French war, but
now held a commission in the regular army, and was
stationed among the British troops at Boston.
Mackenzie, in a letter, had spoken with loyal abhor-
rence of the state of affairs in the " unhappy province "
406 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
of Massachusetts, and the fixed aim of its inhabitants
at " total independence." " The rebellious and numer-
ous meetings of men •in arms," said he, "their scandal-
ous and ungenerous attacks upon the best characters
in the province, obliging them to save themselves by
flight, and their repeated, but feeble threats, to dispos-
sess the troops, have furnished sufficient reasons to Gen-
eral Gage to put the town in a formidable state of
defence, about which we are now fully employed, and
which will be shortly accomplished to their great morti-
fication."
" Permit me," writes Washington in reply, " with
the freedom of a friend (for you know I always es-
teemed you), to express my sorrow that fortune should
place you in a service that must fix curses, to the latest
posterity, upon the contrivers, and, if success (which,
by the by, is impossible) accompanies it, execrations
upon all those who have been instrumental in the exe-
cution. * * * * When you condemn the con-
duct of the Massachusetts people, you reason from
effects, not causes ; otherwise you would not wonder at
a people, who are every day receiving fresh proofs of
a systematic assertion of an arbitrary power, deeply
planned to overturn the laws and constitution of their
country, and to violate the most essential and valuable
rights of mankind, being irritated, and with difliculty
restrained from acts of the greatest violence and in-
temperance.
" For my own part, I view things in a very differ-
ent point of light from the one in which you seem to
consider them; and though you are led to believe, by
venal men, that the people of Massachusetts are rebel-
1774.] WASHINGTON TO CAPT. MACKENZIE. 407
lious, setting up for independency, and what not, give
me leave, my good friend, to tell you that you are
abused, grossly abused. * * * * 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 ;
but this you may at the same time rely on, that none
of them will ever submit to the loss of their valuable
rights and privileges, which are essential to the happi-
ness of every free state, and without which, life, liber-
ty, and property, are rendered totally insecure.
"These, sir, being certain consequences, which
must naturally result from the late acts of Parliament
relative to America in general, and the government of
Massachusetts in particular, is it to be wondered at
that men who wish to avert the impending blow,
should attempt to oppose its progress, or prepare for
their defence, if it cannot be averted ? Surely I may
be allowed to answer in the negative; and give me
leave to add, as my opinion, that more blood will be
spilled on this occasion, if the ministry are determined
to push matters to extremity, than history has ever yet
furnished instances of in the annals of North America ;
and such a vital wound will be given to the peace of
this great country, as time itself cannot cure, or eradi-
cate the remembrance of."
In concluding, he repeats his views with respect to
independence : " I am well satisfied that no such thing
is desired by any thinking man in all North America ;
on the contrary, that it is the ardent wish of the warm-
est advocates for liberty, that peace and tranquillity,
408 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
upon constitutional grounds, may be restored, and the •
horrors of civil discord prevented." *
This letter we have considered especially worthy of
citation, from its being so full and explicit a declaration
of Washington's sentiments and opinions at this criti-
cal juncture. His views on the question of indepen-
dence are particularly noteworthy, from his being at
this time in daily and confidential communication with
the leaders of the popular movement, and among them
with the delegates from Boston. It is evident that the
filial feeling still throbbed toward the mother country,
and a complete separation from her had not yet entered
into the alternatives of her colonial children.
On the breaking up of Congress, Washington has-
tened back to Mount Vernon, where his presence was
more than usually important to the happiness of Mrs.
Washington, from the loneliness caused by the recent
death of her daughter, and the absence of her son.
The cheerfulness of the neighborhood had been dimin-
ished of late by the departure of George William Pair-
fax for England, to take possession of estates which
had devolved to him in that kingdom. His estate of
Belvoir, so closely allied with that of Mount Vernon
by family ties and reciprocal hospitality, was left in
charge of a steward, or overseer. Through some acci-
dent the house took fire, and was burnt to the ground.
It was never rebuilt. The course of political events
which swept Washington from his quiet home into the
current of public and military life, prevented William
* Sparks. Washington's Writings, vol. ii., p. 899.
1774] A CONNECTION SEVERED. 409
Fairfax, who was a royalist, though a liberal one,
from returning to his once happy abode, and the hos-
pitable intercommunion in Mount Vernon and Belvoir
was at an end for ever.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
GAGE'S MIL1TAEY MEASUEES — REMOVAL OF GUNPOWDER FROM THE
ARSENAL — PUBLIC AGITATION — ALARMS IN THE COUNTRY OIYIL
GOVERNMENT OBSTRUCTED — BELLIGERENT SYMPTOMS — ISRAEL PUT-
NAM AND GENERAL CHARLES LEE, THEIR CHARACTERS AND STORIES
— GENEE AL ELECTION — SELF-CONSTITUTED CONGRESS HANCOCK
PEE3IDENT — ADJOURNS TO CONCORD — REMONSTRANCE TO GAGE — HIS
PERPLEXITIES — GENERALS ARTEMAS WARD AND SETH POMEROY
COMMITTEE OF SAFETY — COMMITTEE OF SUPPLIES — RESTLESSNESS
THROUGHOUT THE LAND — INDEPENDENT COMPANIES IN VIRGINIA —
MILITARY TONE AT MOUNT VERNON — WASHINGTON'S MILITARY GUESTS
— MAJOR HORATIO GATES — ANECDOTES CONCERNING HIM — GENERAL
CHARLES LEE — HIS PECULIARITIES AND DOGS — WASHINGTON AT THE
RICHMOND CONVENTION — WAR SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY — WASHING-
TON'S MILITARY INTENTIONS.
The rumor of the cannonading of Boston, which had
thrown such a gloom over the religious ceremonial at
the opening of Congress, had been caused by measures
of Governor Gage. The public mind in Boston and
its vicinity, had been rendered excessively jealous and
sensitive by the landing and encamping of artillery upon
the Common, and Welsh Eusiliers on Fort Hill, and
by the planting of four large field-pieces on Boston
Neck, the only entrance to the town by land. The
country people were arming and disciphning themselves
1774.J SACKING OF THE ARSENAL. 41]
in every direction, and collecting and depositing arms
and ammunition in places where they would be at hand
in case of emergency. Gage on the other hand, issued
orders that the munitions of war in all the public mag-
azines should be brought to Boston. One of these
magazines was the arsenal in the north-west part of
Charlestown, between Medford and Cambridge. Two
companies of the king's troops passed silently in boats
up Mystic River in the night; took possession of a
large quantity of gunpowder deposited there, and con-
veyed it to Castle Williams. Intelligence of this sack-
ing of the arsenal flew with lightning speed through
the neighborhood. In the morning several thousands
of patriots were assembled at Cambridge, weapon in
hand, and were with difficulty prevented from marching
upon Boston to compel a restitution of the powder.
In the confusion and agitation, a rumor stole out into
the country that Boston was to be attacked ; followed
by another that the ships were cannonading the town,
and the soldiers shooting down the inhabitants. The
whole country was forthwith in arms. Numerous
bodies of the Connecticut people had made some
marches before the report was contradicted.*
To guard against any irruption from the country,
Gage encamped the 59th regiment on Boston Neck,
and employed the soldiers in intrenching and fortify-
ing it.
In the mean time the belligerent feelings of the in-
habitants were encouraged, by learning how the rumor
of their being cannonaded had been received in the
* Holmes's Annals, ii., 191. — Letter of Gage to Lord Dartmouth.
412 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
General Congress, and by assurances from all parts that
the cause of Boston would be made the common cause
of America. " It is surprising," writes General Gage,
" that so many of the other provinces interest them-
selves so much in this. They have some warm friends
in New York, and I learn that the people of Charles-
ton, South Carolina, are as mad as they are here." *
The commissions were arrived for those civil officers
appointed by the crown under the new modifications
of the charter : many, however, were afraid to accept
of them. Those who did, soon resigned, finding it
impossible to withstand the odium of the people. The
civil government throughout the province became ob-
structed in all its operations. It was enough for a man
to be supposed of the governmental party, to incur
popular ill will.
Among other portentous signs, war^hawks began
to appear above the horizon. Mrs. Cushing, wife to a
member of Congress, writes to her husband: "Two
of the greatest military characters of the day are visit-
ing this distressed town. General Charles Lee, who
has served in Poland, and Colonel Israel Putnam,
whose bravery and character need no description." As
these two men will take a prominent part in coming
events, we pause to give a word or two concerning
them.
Israel Putnam was a soldier of native growth.
One of the military productions of the Prench war;
seasoned and proved in frontier campaigning. He had
served at Louisburg, Port Duquesne, and Crown Point ;
* Gage to Dartmouth, Sept. 20.
1774] GENERALS PUTNAM AND LEE. 413
had signalized himself in Indian warfare; been cap-
tured by the savages, tied to a stake to be tortured and
burnt, and had only been rescued by the interference, at
the eleventh hour, of a French partisan of the Indians.
Since the peace, he had returned to agricultural
life, and was now a farmer at Pomfret, in Connecticut,
where the scars of his wounds and the tales of his ex-
ploits rendered him a hero in popular estimation. The
war spirit yet burned within him. He was now chair-
man of a committee of vigilance, and had come to Bos-
ton in discharge of. his political and semi-belligerent
functions.
General Charles Lee was a military man of a differ-
ent stamp ; an Englishman by birth, and a highly cul-
tivated production of European warfare. He was the
son of a British officer, Lieutenant-colonel John Lee,
of the dragoons, who married the daughter of Sir
Henry Bunbury, Bart., and afterwards rose to be a
general. Lee was born in 1731, and may almost be
said to have been cradled in the army, for he received
a commission by the time he was eleven years of age.
He had an irregular education; part of the time in
England, part on the continent, and must have scrambled
his way into knowledge ; yet by aptness, diligence, and
ambition, he had acquired a considerable portion, being
a Greek and Latin scholar, and acquainted with modern
languages. The art of war was his especial study from
his boyhood, and he had early opportunities of practical
experience. At the age of twenty-four, he commanded
a company of grenadiers in the 44th regiment, and served
in the Erench war in America, where he was brought
into military companionship with Sir William Johnson's
414 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
Mohawk warriors, whom he used to extol for their
manly beauty, their dress, their graceful carriage and
good breeding. In fact, he rendered himself so much
of a favorite among them, that they admitted him to*
smoke in their councils, and adopted him into the
tribe of the Bear, giving him an Indian name, signify-
ing " Boiling Water."
At the battle of Ticonderoga, where Abercrombie
was defeated, he was shot through the body, while lead-
ing his men against the French breastworks. In the
next campaign, he was present at the siege of Tort
Niagara, where General Prideaux fell, and where Sir
William Johnson, with his British troops and Mohawk
warriors, eventually won the fortress. Lee had, prob-
ably, an opportunity on this occasion of fighting side
by side with some of his adopted brethren of the Bear
tribe, as we are told he was much exposed during the
engagement with the French and Indians, and that two
balls grazed his hair. A military errand, afterwards,
took him across Lake Erie, and down the northern
branch of the Ohio to Fort Duquesne, and thence by
a long march of seven hundred miles to Crown Point,
where he joined General Amherst. In 1760, he was
among the forces which followed that general from Lake
Ontario down the St. Lawrence ; and was present at
the surrender of Montreal, which completed the con-
quest of Canada.
In 1762, he bore a colonel's commission, and
served under Brigadier-general Burgoyne in Portugal,
where he was intrusted with an enterprise against a
Spanish post at the old Moorish castle of Villa Velha,
on the banks of the Tagus. He forded the river in
1774.] GENERAL CHARLES LEE. 415
the night, pushed his way through mountain passes,
and at 2 o'clock in the morning, rushed with his gren-
adiers into the enemy's camp before daylight, where
every thing was carried at the point of the bayonet,
assisted by a charge of dragoons. The war over, he
returned to England, bearing testimonials of bravery
and good conduct from his commander-in-chief, the
Count de la Lippe, and from the king of Portugal.*
Wielding the pen as well as the sword, Lee under-
took to write on questions of colonial policy, relative
to Pontiac's war, in which he took the opposition side.
This lost him the favor of the ministry, and with it all
hope of further promotion.
He now determined to offer his services to Poland,
supposed to be on the verge of a war. Recommenda-
tions from his old commander, the Count de la Lippe,
procured him access to some of the continental courts.
He was well received by Frederick the Great, and had
several conversations with him, chiefly on American
affairs. At Warsaw, his military reputation secured
him the favor of Poniatowsky, recently elected king of
Poland, with the name of Stanislaus Augustus, who
admitted him to his table, and made him one of his
aides-de-camp. Lee was disappointed in his hope of
active service. There was agitation in the country,
but the power of the king was not adequate to raise
forces sufficient for its suppression. He had few troops,
and those not trustworthy ; and the town was full of
the disaffected. " We have frequent alarms," said Lee,
* Life of Charles Lee, by Jared Sparks. Also, Memoirs of Charles
Lee, published 111 London, 1792.
416 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
" and the pleasure of sleeping every night with our
pistols on our pillows/'
By way of relieving his restlessness, Lee, at the
suggestion of the king, set off to accompany the Polish
ambassador to Constantinople. The latter travelled too
slow for him ; so he dashed ahead when on the fron-
tiers of Turkey, with an escort of the grand seignior's
treasure ; came near perishing with cold and hunger
among the Bulgarian Mountains, and after his arrival
at the Turkish capital, ran a risk of being buried under
the ruins of his house in an earthquake.
Late in the same year (1766), he was again in
England, an applicant for military appointment, bear-
ing a letter from king Stanislaus to king George. His
meddling pen is supposed again to have marred his
fortunes, having indulged in sarcastic comments on the
military character of General Townshend and Lord
George Sackville. " I am not at all surprised," said a
friend to him, " that you find the door shut against you
by a person who has such unbounded credit, as you
have ever too freely indulged in a liberty of declaiming,
which many invidious persons have not failed to inform
him of. The principle on which you thus freely speak
your mind, is honest and patriotic, but not politic.''
The disappointments which Lee met with during a
residence of two years in England, and a protracted
attendance on people in power, rankled in his bosom,
and embittered his subsequent resentment against the
king and his ministers.
In 1768, he was again on his way to Poland, with
the design of performing a campaign in the Russian
service. "I natter myself," said he, "that a little
1774] GENERAL CHARLES LEE. 417
more practice will make me a good soldier. If not, it
will serve to talk over my kitchen fire in my old age,
which will soon come upon us all."
He now looked forward to spirited service. "I am
to have a command of Cossacks and Wallacks," writes
he, " a kind of people I have a good opinion of. I am
determined not to serve in the line. One might as well
be a churchwarden."
The friendship of king Stanislaus continued. " He
treats me more like a brother than a patron," said Lee.
In 1769, the latter was raised to the rank of major-gen-
eral in the Polish army, and left Warsaw to join the
Russian force, which was crossing the Dniester and
advancing into Moldavia. He arrived in time to take
part in a severe action between the Russians and Turks,
in which the Cossacks and hussars were terribly cut up
by the Turkish cavalry, in a ravine near the city of
Chotzim. It was a long and doubtful conflict, with
various changes; but the rumored approach of the
grand vizier, with a hundred and seventy thousand
men, compelled the Russians to abandon the enterprise
and recross the Dniester.
Lee never returned to Poland, though he ever re-
tained a devoted attachment to Stanislaus. He for
some time led a restless life about Europe — visiting
Italy, Sicily, Malta, and the south of Spain ; troubled
with attacks of rheumatism, gout, and the effects of a
" Hungarian fever." He had become more and more
cynical and irascible, and had more than one " affair of
honor," in one of which he killed his antagonist. His
splenetic feelings, as well as his political sentiments, were
occasionally vented in severe attacks upon the ministry,
vol. i. — 27
418 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
full of irony and sarcasm. They appeared in the pub-
lic journals, and gained him such reputation, that even
the papers of Junius were by some attributed to him.
In the questions which had risen between England
and her colonies, he had strongly advocated the cause
of the latter ; and it was the feelings thus excited, and
the recollections, perhaps, of his early campaigns, that
had recently brought him to America. Here he had
arrived in the latter part of 1773, had visited various
parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, taking an
active part in the political agitations of the country. His
caustic attacks upon the ministry; his conversational
powers and his poignant sallies, had gained him great
reputation ; but his military renown rendered him espe-
cially interesting at the present juncture. A general,
who had served in the famous campaigns of Europe,
commanded Cossacks, fought with Turks, talked with
Frederick the Great, and been aide-de-camp to the king
of Poland, was a prodigious acquisition to the patriot
cause ! On the other hand, his visit to Boston was
looked upon with uneasiness by the British officers, who
knew his adventurous character. It was surmised that
he was exciting a spirit of revolt, with a view to put-
ting himself at its head. These suspicions found their
way into the London papers, and alarmed the British
cabinet. " Have an attention to his conduct," writes
Lord Dartmouth to Gage, " and take every legal method
to prevent his effecting any of those dangerous pur-
poses he is said to have in view."
Lee, when subsequently informed of these suspi-
cions, scoffed at them in a letter to his friend, Edmund
1774.] PROVINCIAL CONGRESS AT CONCORD. 419
Burke, and declared that he had not the " temerity and
vanity " to aspire to the aims imputed to him.
" To think myself qualified for the most important
charge that ever was committed to mortal man," writes
he, " is the last stage of presumption ; nor do I think
the Americans would, or ought to confide in a man, let
his qualifications be ever so great, who has no property
among them. It is true, I most devoutly wish them
success in the glorious struggle ; that I have expressed
my wishes both in writing and viva voce ; but my
errand to Boston was mere curiosity to see a people in
so singular circumstances ; and I had likewise an am-
bition to be acquainted with some of their leading
men ; with them only I associated during my stay in
Boston. Our ingenious gentlemen in the camp, there-
fore, very naturally concluded my design was to put
myself at their head."
To resume the course of events at Boston. Gage,
on the 1st of September, before this popular agitation,
had issued writs for an election of an Assembly to meet at
Salem in October ; seeing, however, the irritated state
of the public mind, he now countermanded the same
by proclamation. The people, disregarding the coun-
termand, carried the election and ninety of the new
members thus elected met at the appointed time. They
waited a whole day for the governor to attend, admin-
ister the oaths, and open the session ; but as he did
not make his appearance, they voted themselves a pro-
vincial Congress, and chose for president of it, John
Hancock, — a man of great wealth, popular, and some-
what showy talents, and ardent patriotism ; and emi-
nent from his social position.
420 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
This self-constituted body adjourned to Concord,
about twenty miles from Boston ; quietly assumed su-
preme authority, and issued a remonstrance to the gov-
ernor, virtually calling him to account for his military
operations in fortifying Boston Neck, and collecting
warlike stores about him, thereby alarming the fears of
the whole province, and menacing the lives and property
of the Bostonians.
General Gage, overlooking the irregularity of its
organization, entered into explanations with the Assem-
bly, but failed to give satisfaction. As winter ap-
proached, he found his situation more and more critical.
Boston was the only place in Massachusetts that now
contained British forces, and it had become the refuge
of all the " tones " of the province : that is to say, of
all those devoted to the British government. There
was animosity between them and the principal inhabi-
tants, among whom revolutionary principles prevailed.
The town itself, almost insulated by nature, and sur-
rounded by a hostile country, was like a place besieged.
The provincial Congress conducted its affairs with
the order and system so formidable to General Gage.
Having adopted a plan for organizing the militia, it had
nominated general officers, two of whom, Artemas
Ward and Seth Pomeroy, had accepted.
The executive powers were vested in a committee
of safety. This was to determine when the services of
the militia were necessary ; was to call them forth, — to
nominate their officers to the Congress, — to commission
them, and direct the operations of the army. Another
committee was appointed to furnish supplies to the
1774.] MILITARY MOVEMENTS. 421
forces when called out ; hence, named the committee
of supplies.
Under such auspices, the militia went on arming
and disciplining itself in every direction. They asso-
ciated themselves in large bodies, and engaged, verbally
or by writing, to assemble in arms at the shortest
notice for the common defence, subject to the orders of
the committee of safety.
Arrangements had been made for keeping up an
active correspondence between different parts of the
country, and spreading an alarm in case of any threat-
ening danger. Under the direction of the committees
just mentioned, large quantities of military stores had
been collected and deposited at Concord and Worces-
ter.
This semi-belligerent state of affairs in Massachu-
setts produced a general restlessness throughout the
land. The weak-hearted apprehended coming troubles :
the resolute prepared to brave them. Military mea-
sures, hitherto confined to New England, extended to
the middle and southern provinces, and the roll of the
drum resounded through the villages.
Virginia was among the first to buckle on its armor.
It had long been a custom among its inhabitants to
form themselves into independent companies, equipped
at their own expense, having their own peculiar uni-
form, and electing their own officers, though holding
themselves subject to militia law. They had hitherto
been self- disciplined ; but now they continually resorted
to Washington for instruction and advice ; considering
him the highest authority on military affairs. He was
frequently called from home, therefore, in the course of
422 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774
the winter and spring, to different parts of the country
to review independent companies ; all of which were
anxious to put themselves under his command as field-
officer.
Mount Vernon, therefore, again assumed a military
tone as in former days, when he took his first lessons
there in the art of Avar. He had his old campaigning
associates with him occasionally, Dr. Craik and Captain
Hugh Mercer, to talk of past scenes and discuss the
possibility of future service. Mercer was already be-
stirring himself in disciplining the militia about Fred-
ericksburg, where he resided.
Two occasional and important guests at Mount
Vernon, in this momentous crisis, were General Charles
Lee, of whom we have just spoken, and Major Horatio
Gates. As the latter is destined to occupy an impor-
tant page in this memoir, we will give a few particulars
concerning him. He was an Englishman by birth, the
son of a captain in the British army. Horace Wal-
pole, whose christian name he bore, speaks of him in
one of his letters as his godson, though some have in-
sinuated that he stood in filial relationship of a less
sanctified character. He had received a liberal educa-
tion, and, when but twenty-one years of age, had
served as a volunteer under General Edward Corn-
wallis, governor of Halifax. He was afterwards cap-
tain of a New York independent company, with which, it
may be remembered, he marched in the campaign of
Braddock, in which he was severely wounded. Eor
two or three subsequent years he was with his company
in the western part of the province of New York,
receiving the appointment of brigade major. He
1774.] MAJOR HORATIO GATES. 423
accompanied General Monckton as aide-de-camp to the
West Indies, and gained credit at the capture of Mar-
tinico. Being despatched to London with tidings of
the victory, he was rewarded by the appointment of
major to a regiment of' foot; and afterwards, as a
special mark of royal favor, a majority in the Royal
Americans. His promotion did not equal his expecta-
tions and fancied deserts. He was married, and wanted
something more lucrative ; so he sold out on half-pay,
and became an applicant for some profitable post under
government, which he hoped to obtain through the
influence of General Monckton and some friends m the
aristocracy* Thus several years were passed, partly
with his family in retirement, partly in London, paying
court to patrons and men in power, until, finding there
was no likelihood of success, and having sold his com-
mission and half-pay, he emigrated to Virginia in
1772, a disappointed man; purchased an estate in
Berkeley County, beyond the Blue Ridge; espoused
the popular cause, and renewed his old campaigning
acquaintance with Washington.
He was now about forty-six years of age, of a florid
complexion and goodly presence, though a little inclined
to corpulency ; social, insinuating, and somewhat spe-
cious in his manners, with a strong degree of self-
approbation. A long course of solicitation ; haunting
public offices and antechambers, and " knocking about
town," had taught him, it was said, how to wheedle
and flatter, and accommodate himself to the humors of
others, so as to be the boon companion of gentlemen,
and " hail fellow well met " with the vulgar.
Lee, who was an old friend and former associate in
424 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1774.
arms, had recently been induced by him to purchase an
estate in his neighborhood in Berkeley County, with a
view to making it his abode, having a moderate com-
petency, a claim to land on the Ohio, and the half-pay
of a British colonel. Both of these officers, disap-
pointed in the British service, looked forward probably
to greater success in the patriot cause.
Lee had been at Philadelphia since his visit to Bos-
ton, and had made himself acquainted with the leading
members of Congress during the session. He was
evidently cultivating an intimacy with every one likely
to have influence in the approaching struggle.
To Washington the visits of these gentlemen were
extremely welcome at this juncture, from their military
knowledge and experience, especially as much of it had
been acquired in America, in the same kind of warfare,
if not the very same campaigns in which he himself
had mingled, Both were interested in the popular
cause. Lee was full of plans for the organization and
disciplining of the militia, and occasionally accompa-
nied Washington in his attendance on provincial re-
views. He was subsequently very efficient at Annapo-
lis in promoting and superintending the organization
of the Maryland militia.
It is doubtful whether the visits of Lee were as
interesting to Mrs. Washington as to the general. He
was whimsical, eccentric, and at times almost rude ;
negligent also, and slovenly in person and attire ; for
though he had occasionally associated with kings and
princes, he had also campaigned with Mohawks and
Cossacks, and seems to have relished their "good
breeding." What was still more annoying in a well
1775.] PATRICK HENRY. 425
regulated mansion, lie was always followed by a legion
of dogs, which shared his affections with his horses,
and took their seats by him when at table. " I must
have some object to embrace," said he misanthropically.
" When I can be convinced that men are as worthy
objects as dogs, I shall transfer my benevolence, and
become as stanch a philanthropist as the canting
Addison affected to be." *
In his passion for horses and dogs, Washington, to
a certain degree, could sympathize with him, and had
noble specimens of both in his stable and kennel,
which Lee doubtless inspected with a learned eye.
During the season in question, Washington, according
to his diary, was occasionally in the saddle at an early
hour following the fox-hounds. It was the last time
for many a year that he was to gallop about his beloved
hunting-grounds of Mount Vernon and Belvoir.
In the month of March the second Virginia Con-
vention was held at Richmond. Washington attended
as delegate from Fairfax County. In this assembly,
Patrick Henry, with his usual ardor and eloquence,
advocated measures for embodying, arming and disci-
plining a militia force, and providing for the defence of
the colony. " It is useless," said he, " to address fur-
ther petitions to government, or to await the effect of
those already addressed to the throne. The time for
supplication is past; the time for action is at hand.
We must fight, Mr. Speaker," exclaimed he emphati-
cally; " I repeat it, sir, we must fight ! An appeal to
arms, and to the God of Hosts, is all that is left us ! "
* Lee to Adams. Life and Works of Adams, ii., 414.
426 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775,
Washington joined him in the conviction, and was
one of a committee that reported a plan for carrying
those measures into effect. He was not an impulsive
man to raise the battle cry, but the executive man to
marshal the troops into the field, and carry on the war.
His brother, John Augustine, was raising and dis-
ciplining an independent company ; Washington offered
to accept the command of it, should occasion require it
to be drawn out. He did the same with respect to an
independent company at Richmond. "It is my full
intention, if needful," writes he to his brother, " to
devote my life and fortune to the cause!' *
* Letter to John Augustine. Sparks, ii., 405.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
INFATUATION IN BRITISH COUNCILS — COLONEL GBANT, THE BEAGGAET —
COEECIVE MEASUEES — EXPEDITION AGAINST THE MILITAET MAGAZINE
AT CONCOED — BATTLE OF LEXINGTON — THE GET OF BLOOD THEOUGH
THE LAND — OLD SOLDIEES OF THE FEENOH WAE — JOHN STAEE —
ISEAEL PUTNAM — EISING OF THE TEOMANEY — MEASUEES OF LOED
DUNMORE IN VIRGINIA — INDIGNATION OF THE VIEGINIANS — HUGH
MEECEE AND THE FEIENDS OF LIBEETT — AEEIVAL OF THE NEWS OF
LEXINGTON AT MOUNT VEENON — EFFECT ON BEYAN FAIRFAX, GATES,
AND WASHINGTON.
While the spirit of revolt was daily gaining strength
and determination in America, a strange infatuation
reigned in the British councils. While the wisdom and
eloquence of Chatham were exerted in vain in behalf
of American rights, an empty braggadocio, elevated to
a seat in Parliament, was able to captivate the attention
of the members, and influence their votes by gross mis-
representations of the Americans and their cause. This
was no other than Colonel Grant, the same shallow
soldier who, exceeding his instructions, had been guilty
of a foolhardy bravado before the walls of Port Du-
quesne, which brought slaughter and defeat upon his
troops. Prom misleading the army, he was now pro-
moted to a station where he might mislead the councils
of his country. We are told that he entertained Par-
428 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
liament, especially the ministerial side of the House,
with ludicrous stories of the cowardice of Americans.
He had served with them, he said, and knew them
well, and would venture to say they would never dare
to face an English army ; that they were destitute of
every requisite to make good soldiers, and that a very
slight force would be sufficient for their complete re-
duction. With five regiments, he could march through
all America !
How often has England been misled to her cost by
such slanderous misrepresentations of the American
character! Grant talked of having served with the
Americans ; had he already forgotten that in the field
of Braddock's defeat, when the British regulars fled, it
was alone the desperate stand of a handful of Virgin-
ians, which covered their disgraceful flight, and saved
them from being overtaken and massacred by the sav-
ages ?
This taunting and braggart speech of Grant was
made in the face of the conciliatory bill of the venera-
ble Chatham, devised with a view to redress the wrongs
of America. The counsels of the arrogant and scorn-
ful prevailed ; and instead of the proposed bill, further
measures of a stringent nature were adopted, coercive
of some of the middle and southern colonies, but ruin-
ous to the trade and fisheries of New England.
At length the bolt, so long suspended, fell ! The
troops at Boston had been augmented to about four
thousand men. Goaded on by the instigations of the
tories, and alarmed by the energetic measures of the
whigs, General Gage now resolved to deal the latter a
crippling blow. This was to surprise and destroy their
1775.] DESIGN ON THE MAGAZINE AT CONCORD. 429
magazine of military stores at Concord, about twenty
miles from Boston. It was to be effected in the night
of the 18th of April, by a force detached for the pur-
pose.
Preparations were made with great secrecy. Boats
for the transportation of the troops were launched, and
moored under the sterns of the men-of-war. Grena-
diers and light infantry were relieved from duty, and
held in readiness. On the 18th, officers were stationed
on the roads leading from Boston, to prevent any intel-
ligence of the expedition getting into the country. At
night orders were issued by General Gage that no per-
son should leave the town. About ten o'clock, from
eight to nine hundred men, grenadiers, light infantry,
and marines, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Smith,
embarked in the boats at the foot of Boston Common,
and crossed to Lechmere Point, in Cambridge, whence
they were to march silently, and without beat of drum,
to the place of destination.
The measures of General Gage had not been
shrouded in all the secrecy he imagined. Mystery
often defeats itself by the suspicions it awakens. Dr.
Joseph Warren, one of the committee of safety, had
observed the preparatory disposition of the boats and
troops, and surmised some sinister intention. He sent
notice of these movements to John Hancock and Sam-
uel Adams, both members of provincial Congress, but
at that time privately sojourning with, a friend at Lex-
ington. A design on the magazine at Concord was
suspected, and the committee of safety ordered that the
cannon collected there should be secreted, and part of
the stores removed.
430 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
On the night of the 18th, Dr. Warren sent off two
messengers by different routes, to give the alarm that
the king's troops were actually sallying forth. The
messengers got out of Boston just before the order of
General Gage went into effect, to prevent any one from
leaving the town. About the same time a lantern was
hung out of an upper window of the north church, in
the direction of Charlestown. This was a preconcerted
signal to the patriots of that place, who instantly des-
patched swift messengers to rouse the country.
In the mean time, Colonel Smith set out on his
nocturnal march from Lechmere Point, by an unfre-
quented path across marshes, where at times the troops
had to wade through water. He had proceeded but a
few miles when alarm guns, booming through the night
air, and the clang of village bells, showed that the
news of his approach was travelling before him, and
the people were rising. He now sent back to General
Gage for a reinforcement, while Major Pitcairn was
detached with six companies to press forward, and se-
cure the bridges at Concord.
Pitcairn advanced rapidly, capturing every one
that he met, or overtook. Within a mile and a half of
Lexington, however, a horseman was too quick on the
spur for him, and galloping to the village, gave the
alarm that the redcoats were coming. Drums were
beaten; guns fired. By the time that Pitcairn en-
tered the village, about seventy or eighty of the yeo-
manry, in military array, were mustered on the green
near the church. It was a part of the " constitutional
army," pledged to resist by force any open hostility of
1775.J A DISASTROUS TRIUMPH. 431
British troops. Besides these, there were a number of
lookers on, armed and unarmed.
The sound of drum, and the array of men in arms,
indicated a hostile determination. Pitcairn halted his
men within a short distance of the church, and ordered
them to prime and load. They then advanced at double
quick time. The major, riding forward, waved his
sword, and ordered the rebels, as he termed them, to
disperse. Other of the officers echoed his words as
they advanced : " Disperse, ye villains ! Lay down
your arms, ye rebels, and disperse ! " The orders were
disregarded. A scene of confusion ensued, with firing
on both sides ; which party commenced it, has been a
matter of dispute. Pitcairn always maintained that,
finding the militia would not disperse, he turned to
order his men to draw out, and surround them, when
he saw a flash in the pan from the gun of a countryman
posted behind a wall, and almost instantly the report
of two or three muskets. These he supposed to be
from the Americans, as his horse was wounded, as was
also a soldier close by him. His troops rushed on, and
a promiscuous fire took place, though, as he declared,
he made repeated signals with his sword for his men to
forbear.
The firing of the Americans was irregular, and
without much effect; that of the British was more
fatal. Eight of the patriots were killed, and ten
wounded, and the whole put to flight. The victors
formed on the common, fired a volley, and gave three
cheers for one of the most inglorious and disastrous
triumphs ever achieved by British arms.
Colonel Smith soon arrived with the residue of the
432 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
detachment, and they all marched on towards Concord,
about six miles distant.
The alarm had reached that place in the dead hour
of the preceding night. The church bell roused the
inhabitants. They gathered together in anxious con-
sultation. The militia and minute men seized their
arms, and repaired to the parade ground, near the
church. Here they were subsequently joined by armed
yeomanry from Lincoln, and elsewhere. Exertions were
now made to remove and conceal the military stores.
A scout, who had been sent out for intelligence,
brought word that the British had fired upon the
people at Lexington, and were advancing upon Con-
cord. There was great excitement and indignation.
Part of the militia marched down the Lexington road
to meet them, but returned, reporting their force to be
three times that of the Americans. The whole of the
militia now retired to an eminence about a mile from
the centre of the town, and formed themselves into two
battalions.
About seven o'clock, the British came in sight, ad-
vancing with quick step, their arms glittering in the
morning sun. They entered in two divisions by differ-
ent roads. Concord is traversed by a river of the same
name, having two bridges, the north and the south.
The grenadiers and light infantry took post in the
centre of the town, while strong parties of light troops
were detached to secure the bridges, and destroy the
military stores. Two hours were expended in the work
of destruction without much success, so much of the
stores having been removed, or concealed. During all
this time the yeomanry from the neighboring towns
1775.] RETALIATION. 433
were hurrying in with such weapons as were at hand,
and joining the militia on the height, until the little
cloud of war gathering there numbered about four
hundred and fifty.
About ten o'clock, a body of three hundred under-
took to dislodge the British from the north bridge.
As they approached, the latter fired upon them, killing
two, and wounding a thud. The patriots returned the
fire with spirit and effect. The British retreated to the
main body, the Americans pursuing them across the
bridge.
By this time all the military stores which could be
found had been destroyed; Colonel Smith, therefore,
made preparations for a retreat. The scattered troops
were collected, the dead were buried, and conveyances
procured for the wounded. About noon he commenced
his retrograde march for Boston. It was high time.
His troops were jaded by the night march, and the
morning's toils and skirmishings.
The country was thoroughly alarmed. The yeor
manry were hurrying from every quarter to the scene
of action. As the British began their retreat, the
Americans began the work of sore and galling retalia-
tion. Along the open road, the former were harassed
incessantly by rustic marksmen, who took deliberate
aim from behind trees, or over stone fences. Where
the road passed through woods, the British found
themselves between two fires, dealt by unseen foes, the
minute men having posted themselves on each side
among the bushes. It was in vain they threw out
flankers, and endeavored to dislodge their assailants j
each pause gave time for other pursuers to come within
vol. i.— 28
434 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
reach, and open attacks from different quarters. Poi
several miles they urged their way along woody defiles,
or roads skirted with fences and stone walls, the retreat
growing more and more disastrous; some were shot
down, some gave out through mere exhaustion; the
rest hurried on without stopping to aid the fatigued, or
wounded. Before reaching Lexington, Colonel Smith
received a severe wound in the leg, and the situation
of the retreating troops was becoming extremely criti-
cal, when, about two o'clock, they were met by Lord
Percy, with a brigade of one thousand men, and two
field-pieces. His lordship had been detached from
Boston about nine o'clock by General Gage, in compli-
ance with Colonel Smith's urgent call for a reinforce-
ment, and had marched gaily through Boxbury to the
tune of " Yankee Doodle," in derision of the " rebels."
He now found the latter a more formidable foe than he
had anticipated. Opening his brigade to the right and
left, he received the retreating troops into a hollow
square ; where, fainting and exhausted, they threw
themselves on the ground to rest. His lordship showed
no disposition to advance upon the assailants, but con-
tented himself with keeping them at bay with his field-
pieces, which opened a vigorous fire from an eminence.
Hitherto the Provincials, being hasty levies, without
a leader, had acted from individual impulse, without
much concert ; but now General ' Heath was upon the
ground. He was one of those authorized to take com-
mand when the minute men should be called out.
That class of combatants promptly obeyed his orders,
and he was efficacious in rallying them, and bringing
1775.] THE CHASE. 435
them into military order, when checked and scattered
by the fire of the field-pieces.
Dr. Warren, also, arrived on horseback, having
spurred from Boston on receiving news of the skir-
mishing. In the subsequent part of the day, he was
one of the most active and efficient men in the field.
His presence, like that of General Heath, regulated
the infuriated ardor of the militia, and brought it into
system.
Lord Percy, having allowed the troops a short in-
terval for repose and refreshment, continued the retreat
toward Boston. As soon as he got under march, the
galling assault by the pursuing yeomanry was recom-
menced in flank and rear. The British soldiery, irrita-
ted in turn, acted as if in an enemy's country. Houses
and shops were burnt down in Lexington; private
dwellings along the road were plundered, and their
inhabitants maltreated. In one instance, an unof-
fending invalid was wantonly slain in his own house.
All this increased the exasperation of the yeomanry.
There was occasional sharp skirmishing, with blood-
shed on both sides, but in general a dogged pursuit,
where the retreating troops were galled at every step.
Their march became more and more impeded by the
number of their wounded. Lord Percy narrowly
escaped death from a musket-ball, which struck off a
button of his waistcoat. One of his officers remained
behind wounded in West Cambridge. His ammuni-
tion was failing as he approached Charlestown. The
Provincials pressed upon him in rear, others were ad-
vancing from Boxbury, Dorchester, and Milton ; Colonel
Pickering, with the Essex militia, seven hundred strong,
436 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
was at hand ; there was danger of being intercepted in
the retreat to Charlestown. The field-pieces were again
brought into play, to check the ardor of the pursuit ;
but they were no longer objects of terror. The sharpest
firing of the Provincials was near Prospect Hill, as the
harassed enemy hurried along the Charlestown road,
eager to reach the Neck, and get under cover of their
ships. The pursuit terminated a little after sunset, at
Charlestown Common, where General Heath brought
the minute men to a halt. Within half an hour more,
a powerful body of men, from Marblehead and Salem,
came up to join the chase. " If the retreat," writes
Washington, " had not been as precipitate as it was, —
and God knows it could not well have been more so, —
the ministerial troops must have surrendered, or been
totally cut off."
The distant firing from the mainland had reached
the British at Boston. The troops which, in the morn-
ing, had marched through Roxbury, to the tune of
Yankee Doodle, might have been seen at sunset,
hounded along the old Cambridge road to Charlestown
Neck, by mere armed yeomanry. Gage was astounded
at the catastrophe. It was but a short time previous,
that one of his officers, in writing to friends in Eng-
land, scoffed at the idea of the Americans taking up
arms. "Whenever it comes to blows," said he, "he
that can run the fastest, will think himself well off,
believe me. Any two regiments here ought to be
decimated, if they did not beat in the field the whole
force of the Massachusetts province." How frequent-
ly, throughout this Revolution, had the English to pay
1775.] JOHN STARK. 437
the penalty of thus undervaluing the spirit they were
provoking !
In this memorable affair, the British loss was
seventy-three killed, one hundred and seventy-four
wounded, and twenty-six missing. Among the slain
were eighteen officers. The loss of the Americans was
forty-nine killed, thirty-nine wounded, and five miss-
ing. This was the first blood shed in the revolutionary-
struggle ; a mere drop in amount, but a deluge in its
effects, — rending the colonies for ever from the mother
country.
The cry of blood from the field of Lexington, went
through the land. None felt the appeal more than the
old soldiers of the French war. It roused John Stark,
of New Hampshire — a trapper and hunter in his
youth, a veteran in Indian warfare, a campaigner under
Abercrombie and Amherst, now the military oracle of
a rustic neighborhood. Within ten minutes after re-
ceiving the alarm, he was spurring towards the sea-
coast, and on the way stirring up the volunteers of the
Massachusetts borders, to assemble forthwith at Bed A
ford, in the vicinity of Boston.
Equally alert was his old comrade in frontier ex-
ploits, Colonel Israel Putnam. A man on horseback,
with a drum, passed through his neighborhood in Con-
necticut, proclaiming British violence at Lexington.
Putnam was in the field ploughing, assisted by his son.
In an instant the team was unyoked ; the plough left
in the furrow j the lad sent home to give word of his
father's departure ; and Putnam, on horseback, in his
working garb, urging with all speed to the camp. Such
was the spirit aroused throughout the country. The
438 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
sturdy yeomanry, from all parts, were hastening toward
Boston with such weapons as were at hand ; and happy
was he who could command a rusty fowling-piece and
a powder-horn.
The news reached Virginia at a critical moment.
Lord Dunmore, obeying a general order issued by the
ministry to all the provincial governors, had seized
upon the military munitions of the province. Here
was a similar measure to that of Gage. The cry went
forth that the subjugation of the colonies was to be
attempted. All Virginia was in combustion. The
standard of liberty was reared in every county ; there
was a general cry to arms. Washington was looked
to, from various quarters, to take command. His old
comrade in arms, Hugh Mercer, was about marching
down to Williamsburg at the head of a body of reso-
lute men, seven hundred strong, entitled " The friends
of constitutional liberty in America," whom he had
organized and drilled in Fredericksburg, and nothing
but a timely concession of Lord Dunmore, with respect
to some powder which he had seized, prevented his
being beset in his palace.
Before Hugh Mercer and the Friends of Liberty
disbanded themselves, they exchanged a mutual pledge
to reassemble at a moment's warning, whenever called
on to defend the liberty and rights of this or any other
sister colony.
Washington was at Mount Vernon, preparing to
set out for Philadelphia as a delegate to the second
Congress, when he received tidings of the affair at
Lexington. Bryan Fairfax and Major Horatio Gates,
were his guests at the time. They all regarded the
1775.] DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF THE TIDINGS. 439
event as decisive in its consequences ; but they regard-
ed it with different feelings. The worthy and gentle-
spirited Fairfax deplored it deeply. He foresaw that it
must break up all his pleasant relations in life ; array-
ing his dearest friends against the government to
which, notwithstanding the errors of its policy, he was
loyally attached and resolved to adhere.
Gates, on the contrary, viewed it with the eye of a
soldier and a -place-hunter — hitherto disappointed in
both capacities. This event promised to open a new
avenue to importance and command, and he deter-
mined to enter upon it.
Washington's feelings were of a mingled nature.
They may be gathered from a letter to his friend and
neighbor, George William Fairfax, then in England, in
which he lays the blame of this " deplorable affair " on
the ministry and their military agents ; and concludes
with the following words, in which the yearnings of the
patriot give affecting solemnity to the implied resolve
of the soldier : " Unhappy it is to reflect that a broth-
er's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast;
and that the once happy and peaceful plains of Ame-
rica are to be either drenched with blood or inhabited
by slaves. Sad alternative ! But can a virtuous man
hesitate in Ids choice ? "
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ENLISTING OF TEOOPS IN THE EAST CAMP AT BOSTON — GENEEAL AETEMAS
WAED — SCHEME TO SUEPEISE TICONDEEOGA — NEW nAMPSHIEE GEANTS
— ETHAN ALLEN AND THE GEEEN MOUNTAIN BOYS — BENEDICT AENOLD
— APFAIE OF TICONDEEOGA AND CEOWN POINT — A DASH AT ST. JOHN'S.
At the eastward, the march of the Revolution went on '
with accelerated speed. Thirty thousand men had
been deemed necessary for the defence of the country.
The provincial Congress of Massachusetts resolved to
raise thirteen thousand six hundred, as its quota. Cir-
cular letters, also, were issued by the committee of
safety, urging the towns to enlist troops with all speed,
and calling for military aid from the other New Eng-
land provinces.
Their appeals were promptly answered. Bodies of
militia, and parties of volunteers from New Hamp-
shire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, hastened to join
the minute men of Massachusetts in forming a camp
in the neighborhood of Boston. With the troops of
Connecticut, came Israel Putnam ; having recently
raised a regiment in that province, and received from
its Assembly the commission of brigadier-general.
1775.] GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD. 441
Some of his old comrades in French and Indian war-
fare, had hastened to join his standard. Such were
two of his captains, Durkee and Knowlton. The lat-
ter, who was his especial favorite, had fought by his
side when a mere boy.
The command of the camp was given to General
Artemas Ward, already mentioned. He was a native
of Shrewsbury, in Massachusetts, and a veteran of the
seven years' war — having served as lieutenant-colonel
under Abercrombie. He had, likewise, been a mem-
ber of the legislative bodies, and had recently been
made, by the provincial Congress of Massachusetts,
commander-in-chief of its forces.
As affairs were now drawing to a crisis, and war
was considered inevitable, some bold spirits in Con-
necticut conceived a project for the outset. This was
the surprisal of the old forts of Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, already famous in the French war. Their situa-
tion on Lake Champlain, gave them the command of
the main route to Canada ; so that the possession of
them would be all-important in case of hostilities.
They were feebly garrisoned and negligently guarded,
and abundantly furnished with artillery and military
stores, so much needed by the patriot army.
This scheme was set on foot in the purlieus, as it
were, of the provincial Legislature of Connecticut, then
in session. It was not openly sanctioned by that body,
but secretly favored, and money lent from the treasury
to those engaged in it. A committee was appointed,
also, to accompany them to the frontier, aid them in
raising troops, and exercise over them a degree of su-
perintendence and control.
442 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
Sixteen men were thus enlisted in Connecticut, a
greater number in Massachusetts, but the greatest acces-
sion of force was from what was called the " New Hamp-
shire Grants." This was a region having the Connecticut
River on one side, and Lake Champlain and the Hud-
son River on the other — being, in fact, the country
forming the present State of Vermont. It had long
been a disputed territory, claimed by New York and
New Hampshire. George II. had decided in favor of
New York ; but the Governor of New Hampshire had
made grants of between one and two hundred town-
ships in it, whence it had acquired the name of the
New Hampshire Grants. The settlers on those grants
resisted the attempts of New York to eject them, and
formed themselves into an association, called "The
Green Mountain Boys." Resolute, strong-handed fel-
lows they were, with Ethan Allen at their head; a
native of Connecticut, but brought up among the
Green Mountains. He and his lieutenants, Seth War-
ner and Remember Baker, were outlawed by the Leg-
islature of New York, and rewards offered for their
apprehension. They and their associates armed them-
selves, set New York at defiance, and swore they would
be the death of any one who should attempt their
arrest.
Thus Ethan Allen was becoming a kind of Robin
Hood among the mountains, when the present crisis
changed the relative position of things as if by magic.
Boundary feuds were forgotten amid the great ques-
tions of colonial rights. Ethan Allen at once stepped
forward, a patriot, and volunteered with his Green
Mountain Boys to serve in the popular cause. He was
1775.] BENEDICT ARNOLD. 443
well fitted for the enterprise in question, by his experi-
ence as a frontier champion, his robustness of mind
and body, and his fearless spirit. He had a kind of
rough eloquence, also, that was very effective with his
followers. " His style," says one, who knew him
personally, " was a singular compound of local barba-
risms, scriptural phrases, and oriental wildness; and
though unclassic, and sometimes ungrammatical, was
highly animated and forcible." Washington, in one of
his letters, says there was " an original something in
him which commanded admiration."
Thus reinforced, the party, now two hundred and
seventy strong, pushed forward to Castleton, a place
within a few miles of the head of Lake Champlain.
Here a council of war was held on the 2d of May.
Ethan Allen was placed at the head of the expedition,
with James Easton and Seth Warner as second and
third in command. Detachments were sent off to
Skenesborough (now Whitehall), and another place on
the lake, with orders to seize all the boats they could
find and bring them to Shoreham, opposite Ticonde-
roga, whither Allen prepared to proceed with the main
body.
At this juncture, another adventurous spirit arrived
at Castleton. This was Benedict Arnold, since so
sadly renowned. He, too, had conceived the project
of surprising Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; or, per-
haps, had caught the idea from its first agitators in Con-
necticut, — in the militia of which province he held a
captain's commission. He had proposed the scheme
to the Massachusetts committee of safety. It had met
with their approbation. They had given him a colonel's
444 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
commission, authorized him to raise a force in Western
Massachusetts, not exceeding four hundred men, and
furnished him with money and means. Arnold had
enlisted but a few officers and men when he heard of
the expedition from Connecticut being on the march.
Pie instantly hurried on with one attendant to overtake
it, leaving his few recruits to follow, as best they
could : in this way he reached Castleton just after the
council of war.
Producing the colonel's commission received from
the Massachusetts committee of safety, he now aspired
to the supreme command. His claims were disregarded
by the Green Mountain Boys ; they would follow no
leader but Ethan Allen. As they formed the majority
of the party, Arnold w r as fain to acquiesce, and serve
as a volunteer, with the rank, but not the command
of colonel.
The party arrived at Shoreham, opposite Ticonde-
roga, on the night of the 9th of May. The detachment
sent in quest of boats had failed to arrive. There were
a few boats at hand, with which the transportation was
commenced. It was slow work ; the night wore away ;
day was about to break ; and but eighty-three men,
with Allen and Arnold, had crossed. Should they
wait for the residue, day would dawn, the garrison
awake, and their enterprise might fail. Allen drew up
his men, addressed them in his own emphatic style,
and announced his intention to make a dash at the
fort, without waiting for more force. " It is a des-
perate attempt," said he, "and I ask no man to go
against his will. I will take the lead, and be the first
1775. j ARRIVAL AT TICONDEROGA. 445
to advance. You that are willing to follow, poise
your firelocks." Not a firelock but was poised.
They mounted the hill briskly, but in silence,
guided by a boy from the neighborhood. The day
dawned as Allen arrived at a sally port. A sentry
pulled trigger on him, but his piece missed fire. He
retreated through a covered way. Allen and his men
followed. Another sentry thrust at Easton with his
bayonet, but was struck down by Allen, and begged
for quarter. It was granted on condition of his
leading the way instantly to the quarters of the com-
mandant, Captain Delaplace, who was yet in bed.
Being arrived there, Allen thundered at the door, and
demanded a surrender of the fort. By this time his
followers had formed into two fines on the parade-
ground, and given three hearty cheers. The comman-
dant appeared at his door half-dressed, " the frightened
face of his pretty wife peering over his shoulder." He
gazed at Allen in bewildered astonishment. " By
whose authority do you act ? " exclaimed he. " In the
name of the great Jehovah, and the Continental Con-
gress ! " replied Allen, with a flourish of his sword,
and an oath which we do not care to subjoin.
There was no disputing the point. The garrison,
like the commander, had been startled from sleep, and
made prisoners as they rushed forth in their confusion.
A surrender accordingly took place. The captain, and
forty-eight men, which composed his garrison, were
sent prisoners to Hartford, in Connecticut. A great
supply of military and naval stores, so important in the
present crisis, was found in the fortress.
Colonel Seth Warner, who had brought over the
446 LIFE OF WASHINGTCW& fl77b,
residue of the party from Shoreham, was now sent
with a detachment against Crown Point, which surren-
dered on the 12th of May, without firing a gun ; the
whole garrison being a sergeant and twelve men.
Here were taken upward of a hundred cannon.
Arnold now insisted vehemently on his right to
command Ticonderoga; being, as he said, the only
officer invested with legal authority. His claims had
again to yield to the superior popularity of Ethan
Allen, to whom the Connecticut committee, which had
accompanied the enterprise, gave an instrument in
writing, investing him with the command of the
fortress, and its dependencies, until he should receive
the orders of the Connecticut Assembly, or the Conti-
nental Congress. Arnold, while forced to acquiesce,
sent a protest, and a statement of his grievances to the
Massachusetts Legislature. In the mean time, his
chagrin was appeased by a new project. The detach-
ment originally sent to seize upon boats at Skenes-
borough, arrived with a schooner, and several batteaux.
It was immediately concerted between Allen and Ar-
nold to cruise in them down the lake, and surprise St.
John's, on the Sorel River, the frontier post of Canada.
The schooner was accordingly armed with cannon
from the fort. Arnold, who had been a seaman in his
youth, took the command of her, while Allen and his
Green Mountain Boys embarked in the batteaux.
Arnold outsailed the other craft, and arriving at
St. John's, surprised and made prisoners of a sergeant
and twelve men; captured a king's sloop of seventy
tons, with two brass six-pounders and seven men;
took four batteaux, destroyed several others, and then,
1775.] A DASH AT ST. JOHN'S. 447
learning that troops were on the way from Montreal
and Chamblee, spread all his sails to a favoring breeze,
and swept up the lake with his prizes and prisoners,
and some valuable stores, which he had secured.
He had not sailed far when he met Ethan Allen
and the batteaux. Salutes were exchanged ; cannon on
one side, musketry on the other. Allen boarded the
sloop ; learnt from Arnold the particulars of his suc-
cess, and determined to push on, take possession of St.
John's, and garrison it with one hundred of his Green
Mountain Boys. He was foiled in the attempt by the
superior force which had arrived ; so he returned to
his station at Ticonderoga.
Thus a partisan band, unpractised in the art of
war, had, by a series of daring exploits, and almost with-
out the loss of a man, won for the patriots the command
of Lakes George and Champlain, and thrown open the
great highway to Canada.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
SECOND SESSION OF CONGEESS — JOHN HANCOCK — PETITION TO THE KING —
FEDEEAL UNION — MILITAKY MEASUEES — DEBATES ABOUT THE AEMY —
QUESTION AS TO COMMANDEE -IN-CHIEF — APPOINTMENT OF "WASHINGTON
OTHEB APPOINTMENTS — LETTEES OF WASHINGTON TO HIS WIFE AND
BEOTHEE — PBEPAEATIONS FOE DEPAETUEE.
The second General Congress assembled at Philadel-
phia on the 10th of May. Peyton Randolph was
again elected as president; but being obliged to re-
turn, and occupy his place as speaker of the Virginia
Assembly, John Hancock, of Massachusetts, was eleva-
ted to the chair.
A lingering feeling of attachment to the mother
country, struggling with the growing spirit of self-
government, was manifested in the proceedings of this
remarkable body. Many of those most active in vin-
dicating colonial rights, and Washington among the
number, still indulged the hope of an eventual recon-
ciliation, while few entertained, or, at least, avowed the
idea of complete independence.
A second "humble and dutiful" petition to the
king was moved, but met with strong opposition.
1775.] A FEDERAL UNION FORMED. 449
John Adams condemned it as an imbecile measure,
calculated to embarrass the proceedings of Congress.
He was for prompt and vigorous action. Other mem-
bers concurred with him. Indeed, the measure itself
seemed but a mere form, intended to reconcile the half-
scrupulous; for subsequently, when it was carried,
Congress, in face of it, went on to assume and exercise
the powers of a sovereign authority. A federal union
was formed, leaving to each colony the right of regu-
lating its internal affairs according to its own individ-
ual constitution, but vesting in Congress the power of
making peace or war; of entering into treaties and
alliances ; of regulating general commerce ; in a word,
of legislating on all such matters as regarded the
security and welfare of the whole community.
The executive power was to be vested in a council
of twelve, chosen by Congress from among its own
members, and to hold office for a limited time. Such
colonies as had not sent delegates to Congress, might
yet become members of the confederacy by agreeing
to its conditions. Georgia, which had hitherto hesi-
tated, soon joined the league, which thus extended
from Nova Scotia to Florida.
Congress lost no time in exercising their federated
powers. In virtue of them, they ordered the enlist-
ment of troops, the construction of forts in various
parts of the colonies, the provision of arms, ammuni-
tion and military stores ; while to defray the expense
of these, and other measures, avowedly of self-defence,
they authorized the emission of notes to the amount
of three millions of dollars, bearing the inscription of
vol. i.— 29
450 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
" The United Colonies ; " the faith of the confederacy
being pledged for their redemption.
A retaliating decree was passed, prohibiting all sup-
plies of provisions to the British fisheries ; and another,
declaring the province of Massachusetts Bay absolved
from its compact with the crown, by the violation of its
charter ; and recommending it to form an internal gov-
ernment for itself.
The public sense of Washington's military talents
and experience, was evinced in his being chairman of
all the committees appointed for military affairs. Most
of the rules and regulations for the army, and the
measures for defence, were devised by him.
The situation of the New England army, actually be-
sieging Boston, became an early and absorbing consider-
ation. It was without munitions of war, without arms,
clothing, or pay; in fact, without legislative counte-
nance or encouragement. Unless sanctioned and assist-
ed by Congress, there was danger of its dissolution.
If dissolved, how could another be collected? If dis-
solved, what would there be to prevent the British
from sallying out of Boston, and spreading desolation
throughout the country ?
All this was the subject of much discussion out of
doors. The disposition to uphold the army was gen-
eral; but the difficult question was, who should be
commander-in-chief? Adams, in his diary, gives us
glimpses of the conflict of opinions and interests within
doors. There was a southern party, he said, which
could not brook the idea of a New England army,
commanded by a New England general. " Whether
this jealousy was sincere," writes he, " or whether it
1775.] GENERAL CHARLES LEE. 451
was mere pride, and a haughty ambition of furnishing
a southern general to command the northern army, I
cannot say ; but the intention was very visible to me,
that Colonel Washington was their object ; and so
many of our stanchest men were in the plan, that we
could carry nothing without conceding to it. There
was another embarrassment, which was never publicly
known, and which was carefully concealed by those
who knew it : the Massachusetts and other New Eng-
land delegates were divided. Mr. Hancock and Mr.
Cushing hung back ; Mr. Paine did not come forward,
and even Mr. Samuel Adams was irresolute. Mr.
Hancock himself had an ambition to be appointed
commander-in-chief. Whether he thought an election
a compliment due to him, and intended to have the
honor of declining it, or whether he would have ac-
cepted it, I know not. To the compliment, he had
some pretensions ; for, at that time, his exertions, sac-
rifices, and general merits in the cause of his country,
had been incomparably greater than those of Colonel
Washington. But the delicacy of his health, and his
entire want of experience in actual service, though an
excellent militia officer, were decisive objections to him
in my mind."
General Charles Lee was at that time in Philadel-
phia. His former visit had made him well acquainted
with the leading members of Congress. The active*
interest he had manifested in the cause was well
known, and the public had an almost extravagant idea
of his military qualifications. He was of foreign birth,
however, and it was deemed improper to confide the
supreme command to any but a native-born American.
452 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
In fact, if he was sincere in what we have quoted from
his letter to Burke, he did not aspire to such a signal
mark of confidence.
The opinion evidently inclined in favor of Wash-
ington ; yet it was promoted by no clique of partisans
or admirers. More than one of the Virginia delegates,
says Adams, were cool on the subject of his appoint-
ment ; and particularly Mr. Pendleton, was clear and
full against it. It is scarcely necessary to add, that
Washington in this, as in every other situation in life,
made no step in advance to clutch the impending
honor.
Adams, in his diary, claims the credit of bringing
the members of Congress to a decision. Rising in his
place, one day, and stating briefly, but earnestly, the
exigencies of the case, he moved that Congress should
adopt the army at Cambridge, and appoint a general.
Though this was not the time to nominate the person,
" yet," adds he, " as I had reason to believe this was a
point of some difficulty, I had no hesitation to declare,
that I had but one gentleman in my mind for that im-
portant command, and that was a gentleman from Vir-
ginia, who was among us, and very well known to all
of us ; a gentleman, whose skill and experience as an
officer, whose independent fortune, great talents, and
excellent universal character, would command the ap-
probation of all America, and unite the cordial exer-
tions of all the colonies better than any other person in
the Union. Mr. Washington, who happened to sit
near the door, as soon as he heard me allude to him,
from his usual modesty, darted into the library-room.
Mr. Hancock, who was our president, which gave me
1775.] WASHINGTON COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 453
an opportunity to observe his countenance, while I was
speaking on the state of the colonies, the army at Cam-
bridge, and the enemy, heard me with visible pleasure ;
but when I came to describe Washington for the com-
mander, I never remarked a more sudden and striking
change of countenance. Mortification and resentment
were expressed as forcibly as his face could exhibit
them."
"When the subject came under debate, several
delegates opposed the appointment of Washington;
not from personal objections, but because the army
were all from New England, and had a general of their
own, General Artemas Ward, with whom they ap-
peared well satisfied ; and under whose command they
had proved themselves able to imprison the British
army in Boston ; which was all that was to be expected
or desired."
The subject was postponed to a future day. In
the interim, pains were taken out of doors to obtain a
unanimity ; and the voices were in general so clearly
in favor of Washington, that the dissentient members
were persuaded to withdraw their opposition.
On the 15th of June, the army was regularly
adopted by Congress, and the pay of the commander-
in-chief fixed at five hundred dollars a month. Many
still clung to the idea, that in all these proceedings
they were merely opposing the measures of the minis-
try, and not the authority of the crown ; and thus the
army before Boston was designated as the Continental
Army, in contradistinction to that under General Gage,
which was called the Ministerial Army.
In this stage of the business, Mr. Johnson, of
454 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
Maryland, rose, and nominated Washington for the
station of commander-in-chief. The election was by
ballot, and was unanimous. It was formally announced
to him by the president, on the following day, when
he had taken his seat in Congress. Rising in his
place, he briefly expressed his high and grateful sense
of the honor conferred on him, and his sincere devo-
tion to the cause. " But," added he, " lest some un-
lucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputa-
tion, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman
in the room, that I this day declare, with the utmost
sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command
I am honored with. As to pay, I beg leave to assure
the Congress that, as no pecuniary consideration could
have tempted me to accept this arduous employment,
at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I
do not wish to make any profit of it. I will keep an
exact account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not,
they will discharge, and that is all I desire."
" There is something charming to me in the con-
duct of Washington," writes Adams to a friend ; " a
gentleman of one of the first fortunes upon the conti-
nent, leaving his delicious retirement, his family and
friends, sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all, in the
cause of his country. His views are noble and disin-
terested. He declared, when he accepted the mighty
trust, that he would lay before us an exact account of
his expenses, and not accept a shilling pay."
Four major-generals were to be appointed. Among
those specified were General Charles Lee and General
Ward. Mr. Mifflin, of Philadelphia, who was Lee's
especial friend and admirer, urged that he should be
1775.] OTHER APPOINTMENTS. 455
second in command. " General Lee," said he, " would
cheerfully serve under Washington; but considering
his rank, character, and experience, could not be ex-
pected to serve under any other. He must be aut se-
cundus, aut tiullus."
Adams, on the other hand, as strenuously objected
that it would be a great deal to expect that General
Ward, who was actually in command of the army in
Boston, should serve under any man; but under a
stranger he ought not to serve. General Ward, ac-
cordingly, was elected the second in command, and
Lee the third. The other two major-generals were,
Philip Schuyler, of New York, and Israel Putnam, of
Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals were likewise
appointed ; Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, Da-
vid Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John
Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Green.
Notwithstanding Mr. Mifflin's objection to having
Lee ranked under Ward, as being beneath his dignity
and merits, he himself made no scruple to acquiesce ;
though, judging from his supercilious character, and
from circumstances in his subsequent conduct, he no
doubt considered himself vastly superior to the provin-
cial officers placed over him.
At Washington's express request, his old friend,
Major Horatio Gates, then absent at his estate in
Virginia, was appointed adjutant-general, with the rank
of brigadier.
Adams, according to his own account, was ex-
tremely loth to admit either Lee or Gates into the
American service, although he considered them officers
of great experience and confessed abilities. He appre-
456 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
hended difficulties, he said, from the " natural preju-
dices and virtuous attachment of our countrymen to
their own officers." " But," adds he, " considering
the earnest desire of General Washington to have the
assistance of those officers, the extreme attachment of
many of our best friends in the southern colonies to
them, the reputation they would give to our arms in
Europe, and especially with the ministerial generals and
army in Boston, as well as the real American merit of
both, I could not withhold my vote from either."
The reader will possibly call these circumstances to
mind when, on a future page, he finds how Lee and
Gates requited the friendship to which chiefly they
owed their appointments.
In this momentous change in his condition, which
suddenly altered all his course of life, and called him
immediately to the camp, Washington's thoughts re-
curred to Mount Vernon, and its rural delights, so dear
to his heart, whence he was to be again exiled. His
chief concern, however, was on account of the distress
it might cause to his wife. His letter to her on the
subject is written in a tone of manly tenderness.
"You may believe me," writes he, "when I assure
you, in the most solemn manner, that, so far from
seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor
in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwilling-
ness to part with you and the family, but from a con-
sciousness of its being a trust too great for my ca-
pacity ; and I should enjoy more real happiness in one
month with you at home, than I have the most distant
prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven
times seven years. But as it has been a kind of des-
1775.] LETTER OF WASHINGTON TO HIS "WIFE. 457
tiny that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope
that my undertaking it is designed to answer some
good purpose. * * * *
" I shall rely confidently on that Providence which
has heretofore preserved, and been bountiful to me, not
doubting but that I shall return safe to you in the Fall.
I shall feel no pain from the toil or danger of the cam-
paign ; my unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness
I know you will feel from being left alone. I therefore
beg that you will summon your whole fortitude, and
pass your time as agreeably as possible. Nothing will
give me so much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, and
to hear it from your own pen."
And to his favorite brother, John Augustine, he
writes : " I am now to bid adieu to you, and to every
kind of domestic ease, for a while. I am embarked on
a wide ocean, boundless in its prospect, and in which,
perhaps, no safe harbor is to be found. I have been
called upon by the unanimous voice of the colonies to
take the command of the continental army ; an honor
I neither sought after, nor desired, as I am thoroughly
convinced that it requires great abilities, and much
more experience, than I am master of." And subse-
quently, referring to his wife : " I shall hope that my
friends will visit, and endeavor to keep up the spirits
of my wife as much as they can, for my departure will,
I know, be a cutting stroke upon her ; and on this ac-
count alone I have many disagreeable sensations."
* On the 20th of June, he received his commission
from the president of Congress. The following day
was fixed upon for his departure for the army. He
reviewed previously, at the request of their officers,
458 LIFE OP WASHINGTON. [1775,
several militia companies of horse and foot. Every one
was anxious to see the new commander, and rarely has
the public beau ideal of a commander been so fully an-
swered. He was now in the vigor of his days, forty-
three years of age, stately in person, noble in his de-
meanor, calm and dignified in his deportment ; as he
sat his horse, with manly grace, his military pres-
ence delighted every eye, and wherever he went the air
rang with acclamations.
CHAPTER XL.
MORE TEOOPS AEEIVE AT BOSTON — GENEBALS HOWE, BUEGOYNE, AND
CLINTON — PROCLAMATION OE GAGE — NATUEE OF THE AMEBIC AN AEMT
SCOBNFUL CONDUCT OF THE BEITISH OFFICERS — PEOJECT OF THE
AMEEICANS TO SEIZE UPON BEEED's HILL— PUTNAM'S OPINION OF IT
SANCTIONED BY PEESOOTT — NOCTUBNAL MAECH OF THE DETACHMENT
— FOBTIFTING OF BUNKEb's HILL — BEEAK OF DAT, AND ASTONISHMENT
OF THE ENEMY.
While Congress had been deliberating on the adoption
of the army, and the nomination of a commander-in-
chief, events had been thickening and drawing to a
crisis in the excited region abont Boston. The provin-
cial troops which blockaded the town prevented sup-
plies by land, the neighboring country refused to fur-
nish them by water ; fresh provisions and vegetables
were no longer to be procured, and Boston began to
experience the privations of a besieged city.
On the 25th of May, arrived ships of war and
transports from England, bringing large reinforce-
ments, under Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Henry
Clinton, commanders of high reputation.
As the ships entered the harbor, and the "rebel
camp " was pointed out, ten thousand yeomanry be-
leaguering a town garrisoned by five thousand regulars,
Burgoyne could not restrain a burst of surprise and
460 LIFE OP WASHINGTON. [1775.
scorn. "What!" cried he, "ten thousand peasants
keep five thousand king's troops shut up ! Well, let
us get in, and we'll soon find elbow-room."
Inspirited by these reinforcements, General Gage
determined to take the field. Previously, however, in
conformity to instructions from Lord Dartmouth, the
head of the war department, he issued a proclamation
(12th June), putting the province under martial law,
threatening to treat as rebels and traitors all malcon-
tents who should continue under arms, together with
their aiders and abettors; but offering pardon to all
who should lay down their arms, and return to their
allegiance. Prom this proffered amnesty, however,
John Hancock and Samuel Adams were especially ex-
cepted ; their offences being pronounced " too flagitious
not to meet with condign punishment."
This proclamation only served to put the patriots
on the alert against such measures as might be expect-
ed to follow, and of which their friends in Boston stood
ready to apprise them. The besieging force, in the
mean time, was daily augmented by recruits and vol-
unteers, and now amounted to about fifteen thousand
men distributed at various points. Its character and
organization were peculiar. As has well been observed,
it could not be called a national army, for, as yet, there
was no nation to own it ; it was not under the author-
ity of the Continental Congress, the act of that body
recognizing it not having as yet been passed, and the
authority of that body itself not having been ac-
knowledged. It was, in fact, a fortuitous assemblage
of four distinct bodies of troops, belonging to different
provinces, and each having a leader of its own election.
1775.] NATURE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 461
About ten thousand belonged to Massachusetts, and
were under the command of General Artemas Ward
whose head-quarters were at Cambridge. Anothei
body of troops, under Colonel John Stark, already
mentioned, came from New Hampshire. Rhode Island
furnished a third, under the command of General Na-
thaniel Greene. A fourth was from Connecticut, under
the veteran Putnam.
These bodies of troops, being from different colo-
nies, were independent of each other, and had their
several commanders. Those from New Hampshire
were instructed to obey General Ward as commander-
in-chief ; with the rest, it was a voluntary act, rendered
in consideration of his being military chief of Massa-
chusetts, the province which, as allies, they came to
defend. There was, in fact, but little organization in
the army. Nothing kept it together, and gave it unity
of action, but a common feeling of exasperated pa-
triotism.
The troops knew but little of military discipline.
Almost all were familiar with the use of fire-arms in
hunting and fowling j many had served in frontier cam-
paigns against the French, and in " bush fighting "
with the Indians ; but none were acquainted with reg-
ular service,' or the discipline of European armies.
There was a regiment of artillery, partly organized by
Colonel Gridley, a skilful engineer, and furnished with
nine field-pieces ; but the greater part of the troops
were without military dress or accoutrements ; most of
them were hasty levies of yeomanry, some of whom
had seized their rifles and fowling-pieces, and turned
out in their working clothes and homespun country
462 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
garbs. It was an army of volunteers, subordinate
through inclination and respect to officers of their own
choice, and depending for sustenance on supplies sent
from their several towns.
Such was the army spread over an extent of ten or
twelve miles, and keeping watch upon the town of
Boston, containing at that time a population of seven-
teen thousand souls, and garrisoned with more than ten
thousand British troops, disciplined and experienced in
the wars of Europe.
In the disposition of these forces, General Ward
had stationed himself at Cambridge, with the main
body of about nine thousand men, and four companies
of artillery. Lieutenant-general Thomas, second in
command, was posted, with five thousand Massachu-
setts, Connecticut and Bhode Island troops, and three
or four companies of artillery, at Boxbury and Dor-
chester, forming the right wing of the army ; while the
left, composed in a great measure of New Hampshire
troops, stretched through Medford to the hills of
Chelsea.
It was a great annoyance to the British officers and
soldiers, to be thus hemmed in by what they termed a
rustic rout with calico frocks and fowling-pieces. The
same scornful and taunting spirit prevailed among
them, that the Cavaliers of yore indulged toward the
Covenanters. Considering episcopacy as the only loyal
and royal faith, they insulted and desecrated the " sec-
tarian" places of worship. One was turned into a
riding school for the cavalry, and the fire in the stove
was kindled with books from the library of its pastor.
The Provincials retaliated, by turning the Episcopal
1775.] PROJECTED ENTERPRISE. 463
church at Cambridge into a barrack, and melting
down its organ-pipes into bullets.
Both parties panted for action ;* the British through
impatience of their humiliating position, and an eager-
ness to chastise what they considered the presumption
of their besiegers ; the Provincials through enthusiasm
in their cause, a thirst for enterprise and exploit, and,
it must be added, an unconsciousness of their own
military deficiencies.
We have already mentioned the peninsula of
Charlestown (called from a village of the same name),
which lies opposite to the north side of Boston. The
heights, which swell up in rear of the village, overlook
the town and shipping. The project was conceived in
the besieging camp to seize and occupy those heights.
A council of war was held upon the subject. The
arguments in favor of the attempt were, that the army
was anxious to be employed; that the country was
dissatisfied with its inactivity; and that the enemy
might thus be drawn out to ground where they might
be fought to advantage. General Putnam was one of
the most strenuous in favor of the measure.
Some of the more wary and judicious, among
whom were General Ward and Dr. Warren, doubted
the expediency of intrenching themselves on those
heights, and the possibility of maintaining so exposed
a post, scantily furnished, as they were, with ordnance
and ammunition. Besides, it might bring on a gen-
eral engagement, which it was not safe to risk.
Putnam made light of the danger. He was confi-
dent of the bravery of the militia if intrenched, having
seen it tried in the old French war. "The Ameri-
464 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775
cans," said he, " are never afraid of their heads ; they
only think of their legs ; shelter them, and they'll fight
for ever." He was seconded by General Pomeroy, a
leader of like stamp, and another veteran of the French
war. He had been a hunter in his time ; a dead shot
with a rifle, and was ready to lead troops against the
enemy, "with, five cartridges to a man."
The daring counsels of such men are always capti-
vating to the inexperienced; but in the present in-
stance, they were sanctioned by one whose opinion in
such matters, and in this vicinity, possessed peculiar
weight. This was Colonel William Prescott, of Pepe-
rell, who commanded a regiment of minute men. He,
too, had seen service in the French war, and acquired
reputation as a lieutenant of infantry at the capture of
Cape Breton. This was sufficient to constitute him an
oracle in the present instance. He was now about fifty
years of age, tall and commanding in his appearance,
and retaining the port of a soldier. What was more,
he had a military garb ; being equipped with a three-
cornered hat, a top wig, and a single-breasted blue
coat, with facings, and lapped up at the skirts. All
this served to give him consequence among the rustic
militia officers with whom he was in council.
His opinion, probably, settled the question j and it
was determined to seize on and fortify Bunker's Hill
and Dorchester Heights. In deference, however, to
the suggestions of the more cautious, it was agreed to
postpone the measure until they were sufficiently sup-
plied with the munitions of war to be able to maintain
the heights when seized.
Secret intelligence hurried forward the project.
1775.] PROJECT TO SEIZE THE HEIGHTS. 465
General Gage, it was said, intended to take possession
of Dorchester Heights on the night of the 18th of
June. These heights lay on the opposite side of Bos-
ton, and the committee were ignorant of their locali-
ties. Those on Charlestown Neck, being near at hand,
had some time before been reconnoitered by Colonel
Richard Gridley, and other of the engineers. It was
determined to seize and fortify these heights on the
night of Friday, the 16th of June, in anticipation of
the movement of General Gage. Troops were draught-
ed for the purpose from the Massachusetts regiments
of Colonels Prescott, Prye and Bridges. There was
also a fatigue party of about two hundred men from
Putnam's Connecticut troops, led by his favorite officer,
Captain Knowlton ; together with a company of forty-
nine artillery men, with two field-pieces, commanded
by Captain Samuel Gridley.
A little before sunset the troops, about twelve hun-
dred in all, assembled on the common, in front of Gen-
eral Ward's quarters. They came provided with packs,
blankets and provisions for four-and-twenty hours, but
ignorant of the object of the expedition. Being all
paraded* prayers were offered up by the reverend Presi-
dent Langdon, of Harvard College ; after which they
all set forward on their silent march.
Colonel Prescott, from his experience in military
matters, and his being an officer in the Massachusetts
line, had been chosen by General Ward to conduct the
enterprise. His written orders were to fortify Bunker's
Hill, and defend the works until he should be relieved.
Colonel Richard Gridley, the chief engineer, who had
likewise served in the Trench war, was to accompany
vol. i.— 30
466 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
him and plan the fortifications. It was understood
that reinforcements and refreshments would be sent to
the fatigue party in the morning.
The detachment left Cambridge about 9 o'clock,
Colonel Prescott taking the lead, preceded by two ser-
geants with dark lanterns. At Charlestown Neck they
were joined by Major Brooks, of Bridges' regiment, and
General Putnam; and here were the waggons laden
with intrenching tools, which first gave the men an
indication of the nature of the enterprise.
Charlestown Neck is a narrow isthmus, connecting
the peninsula with the main land ; having the Mystic
River about half a mile wide, on the north, and a large
embayment of Charles River on the south or right side.
It was now necessary to proceed with the utmost
caution, for they were coming on ground over which
the British kept jealous watch. They had erected a
battery at Boston on Copp's Hill, immediately opposite
to Charlestown. Pive of their vessels of war were sta-
tioned so as to bear upon the peninsula from different
directions, and the guns of one of them swept the
isthmus, or narrow neck just mentioned.
Across this isthmus, Colonel Prescott conducted
the detachment undiscovered, and up the ascent of Bun-
ker's Hill. This commences at the Neck, and slopes
up for about three hundred yards to its summit, which
is about one hundred and twelve feet high. It
then declines toward the south, and is connected by a
ridge with Breed's Hill, about sixty or seventy feet
high. The crests of the two hills are about seven
hundred yards apart.
' On attaining the heights, a question rose which of
Reduced from the British. Map.
a flan § piths M(gf«i $ct
BUNKERS HILL,
on the 17^ of June 1775.
BETWEEN HIS HAJESTYS TUDOPS,
TOBER. THE COMMAND OE M& GENERAL HOWE
AND THE REBEL EORCES.
Uy Xieu* PAGE of the Engineers, fy
Who ndtd a&Aide. dt Campio fyrremlHotvein that Ac/ton
* ft
7**
Cans
gr<^
erway
NarrowPass Bunker's _Hi]l ..'sHill. MaultonsTi
VIEW OF CHABLESTOW 6c, TWUBMCQKmLL£08T0N.-Frcus of 'Bunkers t\Bwdi Will an , \
an nror which hathetn perpetuaitd.
(\.V. Putna
.>>-:
REFUJUSJSTC-ESTO THEPLA.JST.
A to CompU'fGrenVIOllTofligUlnf^Cy-ZButtiucoMritS.
B FMkearJmutnc behind U StoneWciU .
C Fight lnf?movcd forward covcrd by a break in. the Ground-.
^ iTkeBatt V-rnoved forward fromtfu Stone Wall c\ joined hv aiadher from tlicLines.
\lting covered by the rising of the Hill thorn the lire oftheSedoubt .
E.F AMedge Icing part of the Fcbels &e fences onlyMiskct proof.
^y G Redoubt CrFntrencTvuent proof 'against our field Fteces.
H J? Situation of ourFicld Pieces with the direction of their Hit .
^^ I Artillery moved forward .the J'J direction of the Fire shewn in dotted Lines.
V^i, I.P Fire of the And lery against i.r\ellcdqcY.toco\crflie Attack upon theirLtfl
v\' V s "** }LTht Order our Iroops -woo :i 'd probai A- h : o