The loyalists of America and their times

CHAPTER XLVII.

• War of the United States against Great Britain, from 1812 to 1815 316-317
• Introductory and general remarks; illustrations of true loyalty; war struggles of England for human liberty
  when the United States joined the tyrant of Europe in war and invaded Canada; comparative population
  of Canada and the United States; Canada, almost unaided, successfully resists the eleven invasions of the
  United States against her; phases of the war against her 316

CHAPTER XLVIII.

• Declaration of War by the United States against Britain, and preparations for the
  invasion of Canada 318-330
• The alleged and real causes of the war; the Democratic party in the United States always hostile to
  England and her colonies, and sympathisers with every raid against Canada 318
• Two alleged causes for the war by the United States; Berlin decrees, and answers to them by British
  Orders in Council—results 319
• Collusion between Napoleon and the President of the United States against England; seduction and
  desertion of British sailors (nearly 10,000) besides soldiers; the justice and acknowledged right of the
  British claims, and injustice and unreasonableness of the Madison Government's proceedings 319
• The event between the warships Leopard and Chesapeake; American misrepresentations of it; dishonest
  conduct of President Madison in respect to it; noble and generous proposal of the British Government,
  disclaiming the conduct of the captain of the Leopard, and offering to compensate all parties for injuries
  done them by the Leopard 323
• The "Henry Plot" affair; conduct of President Madison in respect to it; declaration of war by the United
  States 327

CHAPTER XLIX.

• Declaration of War by the United States 331-336
• Declaration of war, June 18, 1812; votes in the House of Representatives for and against it 331
• Character of the war party and its Generals 333
• Opposition to the war, and reasons against it, by a State Convention of New York 333
• Address of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts against the war 334
• The Orders in Council, as administered, beneficial to American merchants 335

CHAPTER L.

• Preparations made by the Canadians for their defence 337-351
• War against the Canadas being contemplated in the United States 337
• Preparations by Lower Canada; Sir George Prevost succeeds Sir James Craig as Governor-General;
  his character and first speech to the Legislature 338
• The loyal answer of the Assembly, and liberal provisions for the defence of the Province 338
• Organization of militia 339
• American residents allowed twenty days to leave the Province 340
• Second Session of the War Legislature, 16th July, 1812; the Governor's speech, relying upon the Province,
  and noble reply, and further various and liberal supplies and measures of the Legislative Assembly to meet the emergency 340
• Preparations in Upper Canada for self-defence 341
• General Brock calls a meeting of the Legislature, July 27, 1812; his stirring speech at the opening of the
  session; hearty response and liberal supplies of the House of Assembly 342
• Patriotic address of the Assembly to the people of Upper Canada, and remarks upon it 342

CHAPTER LI.

• First Invasion of Upper Canada, in the Western District, by General Hull, and his
  Proclamation to the Inhabitants of Upper Canada, given entire in a note 346-351
• General Brock's manly and overwhelming reply to General Hull's proclamation, in an address to the
  people of Canada 349

CHAPTER LII.

• General Brock takes Detroit, General Hull's Army, the Territory of Michigan, and
  Immense Military Stores 352-364

Incidents of this Great Achievement.

• 1. Smallness of General Brock's army, and the manner in which he collected it 353
• Preparations at Windsor for the attack upon Detroit before General Brock's arrival there 353
• Crossing the river, and the surrender of Fort Detroit, &c. 354
• 2. General Brock's council with the Indians at Sandwich before crossing the river at Detroit; his conversation
  with the great chief Tecumseh; and after the taking of Detroit, takes off his sash and places it around
  Tecumseh, who next day placed it around the Wyandot chief, Round Head; reasons for it given to
  General Brock 355
• General Brock's estimate of Tecumseh, and the latter's watching and opinion on the conduct of the former 356
• Particulars of Tecumseh's personal history and death (in a note) 357
• Surprise and taking of Michillimackinack, and other defeats, discouraging to General Hull, before his
  surrender of Detroit 358
• Particulars of the surrender 361
• General Brock's proclamation to the people of Michigan 362
• Remarks on the difference in sentiment and style between this proclamation to the inhabitants of Michigan
  and that of General Hull to the inhabitants of Canada 363
• General Brock's return to York; having in 19 days settled public legislative business, raised a little army,
  taken a territory nearly as large as Upper Canada, and an army three times as numerous as his own 364

CHAPTER LIII.

• Second Invasion of Upper Canada at Queenston 365-371
• Crossing of the river from Lewiston to Queenston of 1,500 regular troops, who, by a private path,
  gain Queenston Heights; death of General Brock; the invaders dislodged from the Heights and driven
  down the banks of the river; American militia refuse to cross the river; American soldiers surrender to
  General Sheaffe to the number of 900 men, besides officers, including General Wadsworth and Colonel
  Winfield Scott 365
• Armistice 368
• Incidents on the Niagara frontier after the death of General Brock, by Lieutenant Driscoll, of the 100th
  Regiment 368

CHAPTER LIV.

• Third American Invasion of Canada 372-379
• A large American army assembled; confidence of its success 372
• No reinforcements from England; but the sacrifice and zeal of the Canadians for the defence of their
  country against this third and most formidable invasion of the year 373
• The Commander-in-Chief's (General Smyth) address to his army, given entire in a note 373
• Its effect to bring 2,000 volunteers from the State of Pennsylvania 374
• The troops embark; General Smyth does not appear; failure of the attempted invasion; General Smyth's
  flight from his own soldiers, who shoot off their guns in disgust and indignation 375
• Three armies, altogether of 10,000 men, defeated by less than 1,000 Canadian volunteers and soldiers 378

CHAPTER LV.

• An Invading Army of 10,000 men, under General Dearborn, defeated by Colonel De
  Salaberry, with 300 Canadians, at Chateauguay; Description of the Battle 380-382
• The Canadian militia put in readiness to repel a second apprehended invasion, but General Dearborn
  does not venture it, and retires with his hosts into winter quarters 381
• The Canadian militia allowed to retire for the winter 382
• The armistice between Generals Sheaffe and Smyth injurious to Upper Canada (in a note) 382

CHAPTER LVI.

• Campaigns of 1813 383-425
• Americans determined to conquer Canada this year 383
• Disadvantage of the Governor-General of Canada from the fewness of his troops, regulars and militia,
  compared with those of the invading armies 383
• Three American invading armies—one consisting of 18,000 men, the second of 7,000 men, and the third
  of 8,000 men 384
• General Proctor's slender force at Detroit 384
• Battle of Frenchtown; victory of Colonel Proctor; American misrepresentations respecting it corrected 385
• Colonel Proctor promoted to be General 388
• Several American plundering raids on Brockville and neighbourhood; retaliatory raid of the British on
  Ogdensburg; town ordnance, arms, &c., taken, and vessels destroyed 388
• Canadian preparations in the winter of 1813 for the season's campaign; U.E. Loyalist regiment comes from Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Quebec, on snow shoes 390
• The American plan of campaign to invade and take Canada in 1813 390
• The American fleet on Lake Ontario superior to the British fleet; attack upon York with 1,700 men,
  commanded by Generals Dearborn and Pike; battle, explosion of a magazine; many of both armies
  killed; Canadians defeated and York taken 391
• Americans evacuate York and return to Sackett's Harbour, after having destroyed public buildings, and
  taken much booty 393
• Americans attack Fort George, Newark (Niagara), by land and water, and after a hard fight take the town
  and fort, the British retiring to Queenston 393
• General Vincent, having destroyed the fortifications on the frontier, retreats to Burlington Heights, pursued by Generals Chandler and Winder, with an army of 3,500 infantry and 300 cavalry 394
• Colonel Harvey, with 700 men, surprises the whole American army at Stony Creek, captures their two
  generals and 150 men, &c. 395
• American army retreats in great disorder towards Fort George 396
• The affair at the Beaver Dams; the capture of 700 American soldiers, with their officers, by a small party
  of soldiers and Indians—the captured prisoners being five to one of their captors 397
• The American army confined to Fort George and its neighbourhood 397
• A small party of the British retaliate the marauding game of the Americans by crossing the river at
  Chippewa, attacking and dismantling Fort Schlosser and bringing off military stores; and seven days
  afterwards, 11th July, crossing from Fort Erie to Black Rock, and burning the enemy's block-houses,
  stores, barracks, dockyards, &c. 397
• The two armies almost within gunshot of each other at Fort George; but the Americans could not be drawn
  out to a battle, though their numbers were two to one to the British 398
• General Harrison prepares to prosecute the war for recovering the Territories of Michigan; General Proctor
  raises the siege of Lower Sandusky and retires to Amherstburg 399
• Unsuccessful expedition of Governor-General Prevost and Sir James L. Yeo against Sackett's Harbour;
  Sir George Prevost orders the withdrawment of the troops, at the very crisis of victory, to the great
  disappointment and dissatisfaction of his officers and men 399

Occurrences on Lake Ontario.

• Second unsuccessful attempt of Commodore Sir James Yeo on Sackett's Harbour 401
• Commodore Chauncey's expedition to the head of the lake to take Burlington Heights is deferred by the preparations of Colonels Harvey and Battersby to receive him 402
• Commodore Chauncey makes a second raid upon York (Toronto), plunders, burns, and departs; singular coincidence 402
• The British fleet, sailing from Kingston the last day of July, with supplies for the army at the head of the lake, encounters the American fleet at Niagara, and after two days' manœuvring, a partial engagement ensues,
  in which the British capture two small vessels—the Julia and Growler 402
• A graphic account of the naval manœuvring and battle by the American historian of the war, Brackenridge
  (in a note) 402
• Encounters and tactics of the British and American fleets on Lake Ontario for the rest of the season 404

Occurrences on Lake Erie and in the West.

• Fleet fitting out by Commodore Perry at Presqu' Isle (Erie) blockaded by Commodore Barclay, who,
  neglecting his duty and absenting himself from Presqu' Isle, allowed the American fleet to get over the bar
  at the mouth of the harbour, and getting into the lake with their cannon reshipped and completely equipped 405
• Commodore Barclay, the enemy too well manned and too powerful for him, sails for Amherstburg;
  is pursued by Commodore Perry and compelled to fight, in which he lost his fleet, though he fought bravely 406
• In consequence of the loss of the fleet on Lake Erie, the British army in possession of the territory of
  Michigan, left without resources, evacuate the territory and Fort Detroit, before an American army of 7,000
  men and 1,000 dragoons, under General Harrison 407
• General Proctor retreats up the Thames; is pursued by General Harrison, with a force of 3,000 men,
  including 1,000 Kentucky dragoons, and overtaken near Moravian Town, where a battle ensues, in which
  General Proctor is defeated with heavy loss—the Indians remaining loyal, fighting longest, suffering most,
  with the loss of their chief, Tecumseh 408
• Shameful burning of Moravian Town by the Americans 410
• Americans accept Indian alliance; Americans intoxicated by these successes, but driven from every inch
  of Canadian territory before the end of the year 410

American Invasion of Lower Canada.

• Defeat of an American advance invading division, and capture of two vessels, the Growler
  and Eagle, of eleven guns each, at the Isle-aux-Noix, by 108 men, under the command of Lieut.-Col.
  George Taylor 411
• Attacks upon and capture and destruction of the American war materials, hospitals, barracks,
  &c., at Plattsburg, under Colonel Murray (General Moore retreating with 1,500 men), at Burlington
  (where was encamped General Hampton with 4,000 men), capturing and destroying four vessels, and
  afterwards at the towns of Champlain and Swanton, destroying the block-houses and barracks 412
• These successes but preliminary to the Canadian victories of Chateauguay, and Chrystler's Farm 413

Battle of Chateauguay.

• General Hampton, with 5,000 men, defeated by the skill and courage of Colonel De Salaberry
  with 300 Canadians; the battle described, and the close of it witnessed, by the Governor-General Prevost
  and Major-General De Watteville 413
• General Hampton with his demoralized army retires into winter quarters at Plattsburg 417
• Next expedition against Montreal by the St. Lawrence, under command of General Wilkinson, with
  a force of 10,000 men; the American soldiers promised grand winter quarters at Montreal 417
• American army descends the St. Lawrence from near Kingston in 300 boats; is followed by a detachment
  of the British from Kingston, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison, who overtakes and
  skirmishes with divisions of the American army on the way; at the American post, at the town of Hamilton,
  takes a considerable quantity of provisions and stores, and two pieces of ordnance 418

Battle of Chrystler's Farm.

• American force engaged between 3,000 and 4,000 men; the British forces were about 800 rank and file; preliminaries and description of the battle, said to be the most squarely and scientifically fought battle
  of the war 419
• Losses; General Wilkinson's testimony as to the loyalty and courage of the Canadians 420
• General Wilkinson proceeds down the St. Lawrence with his flotilla; disappointment and mortification
  at General Hampton's disobedience and failure to meet him at St. Regis; crosses the St. Lawrence and
  retires into winter quarters at Salmon River 420
• The campaign of the season terminated in Lower Canada; the Canadian militia dismissed to their homes
  with thanks and applause 421

British Victories in Upper Canada.

• In December, 1813, Lieutenant-General Drummond supersedes Major-General De Rottenburgh in
  command of Upper Canada, and proceeds to York and the head of the Lake at Burlington Heights;
  despatches Colonel Murray to arrest the predatory incursions of General McClure in the neighbourhood
  of Fort George, of which he was then in possession 422
• McClure's plundering the inhabitants; his barbarous act in burning the town of Newark (Niagara), and flight
  to the American side of the river 423
• The British, under command of Colonel Murray, take Fort Niagara, the whole garrison, and much
  warlike supplies 423
• Lewiston, Manchester, Black Rock and Buffalo destroyed in retaliation for the burning of Newark (Niagara),
  and exposure of 400 women and children, by McClure 424
• Proclamation issued by General Drummond, deprecating this savage mode of warfare, and declaring his
  purpose not to pursue it, unless compelled by the measures of the American Government 425

CHAPTER LVII.

• Movements and Campaigns in 1814—The third and last year of the war 426-434
• Two years' expensive failures of American invasions against Canada; preparations on both sides for the
  third year's campaigns 426
• Volunteers, soldiers and sailors, march through the woods from New Brunswick to Canada 426
• Expression of Royal satisfaction and admiration of the loyalty and courage of the Canadians during the
  war, making special mention of the affair of Chateauguay and Colonel De Salaberry 427
• First American invasion of Lower Canada in 1814; the American soldiers, crossing Lake Champlain on
  the ice, attack Le Colle Mill (Block-house), and are driven back by a small but heroic force of Canadians 427
• General Wilkinson returns with his army to Plattsburg; and, disappointed and mortified at his failures, retires
  from the army 428
• Prairie du Chién, on the Mississippi, taken by the British, and Fort Michillimackinack triumphantly defended
  against a large American force; and Sir John C. Sherbrook, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, reduces an extensive portion of American territory adjoining New Brunswick, and adds it to that Province 428
• Peace in Europe; reinforcements of 16,000 veteran soldiers from England to Canada 430
• Sir George Prevost's abortive expedition against Plattsburg censured; recalled to England to be tried by court-martial; dies a week before the day of trial 330
• The estimate of Mr. Christie, the Canadian historian, of the character and policy of Sir George Prevost 431
• Opening of the campaign in Upper Canada; expedition from Kingston against Oswego, which is dismantled,
  its fortifications destroyed, military stores, &c., seized 432
• British fleet, supreme on Lake Ontario, blockades Sackett's Harbour; intercepts supplies being sent from
  Oswego to Sackett's Harbour, but is unsuccessful in pursuing American supply boats up the Sandy Creek;
  the pursuers taken prisoners and well treated by the Americans 433

CHAPTER LVIII.

• Last Invasions and last Battles of the war 435-460
• Americans, in two divisions, under command of Brigadier-Generals Scott and Ripley, cross the river and
  land on the Canadian side above and below Fort Erie, which is commanded by Major Buck, and
  surrendered without firing a shot, to the great loss of the British, and to the great advantage of the Americans 435
• General Brown, with a force of over 4,000 troops, advances down the river from Fort Erie, with a view
  of taking Chippewa; is encountered by General Riall, who is compelled to retire to the rear of his works at Chippewa; heroism of the Lincoln Militia 436
• General Riall retires to Fort George, pursued by General Brown; pillage of the American soldiers and
  officers in the neighbourhood of Fort George 437
• Both armies reinforced; General Brown in difficulties; retreats towards Chippewa; is pursued by General
  Riall; burns the village of St. David's; makes a stand at Lundy's Lane—called Bridgewater by the Americans 437
• Battle of Lundy's Lane; preliminaries to it 438
• The battle itself; protracted and bloody struggle; Americans retreat to beyond Chippewa 439
• Forces engaged; losses on both sides; victory absurdly claimed on the American side 441
• American army retreats to Fort Erie, pursued by General Drummond, who invests the fort 443
• Storming the fort; terrible conflict; on the point of victory a magazine blown up, destroying all the British
  soldiers who had entered the fort—including Colonels Drummond and Scott—compelling the retirement
  of the assailants; British losses severe 444
• The enemy shut up for a month in the fort by the British investment 445
• At the expiration of a month the enemy makes a sortie, with his whole force; surprises and destroys the
  batteries; a bloody conflict; the enemy compelled to return to the fort with a loss of 600 men 445
• Incessant rains prevent General Drummond repairing his batteries; he raises the siege and tries in vain to
  bring General Brown to a general engagement, but he evades it and evacuates Fort Erie 446
• Thus terminates the last American invasion of Canada, without acquiring possession of an inch of
  Canadian territory 446
• Summary review of Canadian loyalty, and the causes, characteristics, and the results of the war, in an
  address delivered at Queenston Heights, near Brock's Monument, by the author, at the anniversary of
  the Battle of Lundy's Lane, July, 1875 447

CHAPTER LIX.

• Miscellaneous Documents and Papers extracted from United Empire Loyalist
  Manuscripts in the Dominion Library at Ottawa 461-464
• Character of the Canadian Militia 461
• American invasions of Canada and their military forces 462
• Notice of Colonel John Clarke and his manuscript contributions 462
• The treatment of Canadians by the American invaders 463
• The Royal Patriotic Society of Upper Canada and its doings in raising and distributing upwards of £20,000
  to relieve Canadian sufferers by the war 466

CHAPTER LX.

• State of Canada after the Close of the War; Conclusion 469

THE

LOYALISTS OF AMERICA

AND

THEIR TIMES,

FROM 1620 TO 1816.

CHAPTER XXVII.

The War of the American Revolution after the Declaration of Independence—The Alliance between the Congress and King of France—The Alliance not Productive of the Effects Anticipated—Efforts of the British Government for Reconciliation with the Colonies not Successful.

It was supposed, both in America and France, that when the alliance between the King of France and Congress, referred to in the last chapter of the previous volume, became known in England, though it was not publicly avowed until February, 1778, England would be weakened and discouraged from further warlike effort, and immediately offer terms of peace, upon the ground of American independence; but the reverse was the case.

The alliance between Congress and the King of France was kept in abeyance by the latter during more than a twelvemonth after it was applied for by the agents of Congress, until after the defeat and capture of General Burgoyne and the refusal of Congress to confer with Lord and General Howe, as British Commissioners, without the previous acknowledgment by the Commissioners of the independence of the United States.[1]

Lord Admiral Howe, having spent some months with his fleet at Halifax, did not arrive at Sandy Hook until the 12th of July, eight days after the Declaration of Independence. "Besides the troops, Lord Howe had brought with him a document which it was hoped might render them unnecessary—the Royal warrant appointing himself and General Howe Commissioners under the Act of Parliament for the pacification of America. No doubt the selection of such men was most wisely made. The memory of their elder brother, who had fallen gloriously in the wars against the French in Canada, was endeared to the colonists, who had fought by his side. Both Lord Howe and the General, but Lord Howe especially, had ever since cultivated a friendly intercourse with Americans, and now entertained a most earnest wish to conclude the strife against them. But judicious as was the choice of the Commissioners, the restricted terms of the Commission were certainly in the highest degree impolitic. Lord Howe had laboured, but vainly, to obtain its enlargement; it amounted, in fact, to little more than the power, first, of receiving submissions, and then, but not till then, of granting pardons and inquiring into grievances.[2] Yet, still, since these terms had not been divulged, and were much magnified by common rumour, the name of the Commission was not ill adapted for popular effect. Had Lord Howe arrived with it a few weeks before, as he might and should have done, we are assured by American writers that an impression might have been produced by it, in some at least of the thirteen colonies, to an extent which they 'cannot calculate,' or rather, perhaps, which they do not like to own. But these few months had been decisive in another direction. During these months both the feeling and the position of the insurgents had most materially changed."[3]

"The two Royal Commissioners," says Dr. Ramsay, "Admiral and General Howe, thought proper, before they commenced their military operations, to try what might be done in their civil capacity towards effecting a reunion between Great Britain and the colonies. It was one of the first acts of Lord Howe to send on shore a circular letter to several of the Royal Governors in America, informing them of the late Act of Parliament 'for restoring peace to the colonies, and granting pardon to such as should deserve mercy,' and desiring them to publish a declaration which accompanied the same. In this, he informed the colonists of the power with which his brother and he were entrusted 'of granting general or particular pardons to all those who, though they had deviated from their allegiance, were willing to return to their duty:' and of declaring 'any colony, province, county or town, port, district or place, to be in the peace of his Majesty.' Congress, impressed with the belief that the proposals of the Commissioners, instead of disuniting the people, would have a contrary effect, ordered them to be speedily published in the several American newspapers. Had a redress of grievances been at this late hour offered, though the honour of the States was involved in supporting their late Declaration of Independence, yet the love of peace, and the bias of great numbers to their parent State, would, in all probability, have made a powerful party for rescinding the Act of Separation, and for re-uniting with Great Britain; but when it appeared that the power of the Royal Commissioners was little more than to grant pardons, Congress appealed to the good sense of the people for the necessity of adhering to the Act of Independence."[4]

It was a diplomatic blunder and an unwise policy for the English Commissioners to make known to the public the restricted authority of their commission, instead of simply stating in general terms their commission under the authority of the Act of Parliament "for restoring peace to the colonies." On such grounds and for such an object the Congress could have offered no justifiable excuse for refusing a conference with the Royal Commissioners; and when, in the course of the discussion, it should have been found that the Commissioners could not agree with, and did not feel themselves authorized to accede to, all the demands of the agents of Congress, the Royal Commissioners (both of whom were known to be friends of the colonies, and opposed to the high-handed measures of the Parliament) could have noted the points of difference, and agreed to recommend the demands made upon them to the most favourable consideration of the King's Government: at all events, friendly intercourse and negotiations would have been opened which would have been probably followed by a suspension of hostilities, if not complete reconciliation. But this was what Congress, led by John Adams and Dr. Franklin—bitter enemies to reconciliation—dreaded; and they very shrewdly saw and improved the imprudent exposure of the Royal Commissioners, by directing the publication of their circular letter and declaration in all the provincial newspapers, "that the good people of the United States may be informed of what nature are the Commissioners, and what the terms, with expectation of which the insidious Court of Great Britain had endeavoured to amuse and disarm them; and that the few who still remain suspended by a hope, founded either on the justice or moderation of their late King, might now at length be convinced that the valour alone of their country is to save its liberties."

Thus all conference with the Royal Commissioners was refused on the part of the leaders in Congress; war and bloodshed followed, and a year of disastrous defeats to the Revolutionists; but the position of the Loyalists may be inferred from the resolution of the New York Revolutionary Convention, adopted a few days after the Declaration of Independence, and before the actual commencement of hostilities, and which was as follows: "That all persons residing within the State of New York, and claiming protection from its laws, owed it allegiance; and that any person owing it allegiance, and levying war against the State, or being an adherent to the King of Great Britain, should be deemed guilty of treason and suffer death." The Convention also resolved: "That as the inhabitants of King's County had determined not to oppose the enemy, a Committee should be appointed to inquire into the authenticity of these reports, and to disarm and secure the disaffected, to remove or destroy the stock of grain, and, if necessary, to lay the whole county waste." Such treatment of adherents to the unity of the empire, and of even neutrals, at the very commencement of the war, goes far to account for the warfare of extermination in many places between the two parties in subsequent years. This mode of warfare was first instituted against the Loyalists, who acted on the defensive, and who have been loudly complained of by American historians for having afterwards, and on some occasions cruelly retaliated upon those who had driven them to desperation.

A little more than eighteen months after the Declaration of Independence, 17th of February, 1778, three Bills were introduced into and passed by the British Parliament, which entirely removed all the grounds of complaint made by the colonists in previous years, and provided for the appointment of Commissioners to settle all differences between the colonies and the mother country. The first of these Bills was entitled, "For removing Doubts and Apprehensions concerning Taxation by the Parliament of Great Britain in any of the Colonies." It expressly repealed by name the tea duty in America, and declared: "That from and after the passing of this Act the King and Parliament of Great Britain will not impose any duty, tax, or assessment whatever in any of his Majesty's (American) colonies, except only such duties as it may be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce; the net produce of such duties to be always paid and applied to and for the use of the colony in which the same shall be levied." "Thus," says Lord Mahon, "was the claim of parliamentary taxation fully, at last, renounced."

The second Bill was "To enable his Majesty to appoint Commissioners with sufficient power to treat, consult, and agree upon the means of quieting the disorders now subsisting in certain of the colonies, plantations, and provinces of North America." The Commissioners were to be five in number, and were invested with extensive powers; they were to raise no difficulties as to the rank or title of the leaders on either side, but were left at liberty to treat, consult, and agree with any body or bodies politic, or any person or persons whatsoever; they might proclaim a cessation of hostilities on the part of the King's forces by sea or land, for any time, or under any conditions or restrictions; they might suspend any Act of Parliament relating to America passed since the 10th of February, 1763. In short, it was intimated that the Commissioners might accept almost any terms of reconciliation short of independence, and subject to be confirmed by a vote of Parliament.

Lord North introduced his Bills in an able and eloquent speech of two hours, in which he reviewed his own career and the several questions of dispute with the colonies.[5]

But though taunted from all sides, his Bills passed speedily through both Houses of Parliament. Lord Mahon remarks: "In spite of such taunts and far from friendly feelings on all sides, the Conciliatory Bills, as they have been termed, were not in reality opposed from any quarter. There was only one division on a clause moved by Mr. Powys, to repeal expressly by name the Massachusetts Charter Act. Lord North induced a large majority to vote against that clause, but agreed that the object in view should be attained by a separate measure. A Bill for that purpose was therefore introduced by Mr. Powys, and passed through Parliament concurrently with the other two. In the House of Lords the same arguments were, with little change, renewed. Lord Shelburne took occasion to declare his full concurrence in the sentiments of Lord Chatham, expressing 'the strongest disapprobation of every idea tending to admit the independence of America,' although acknowledging that future circumstances might create a necessity for such a submission. Lord Chatham himself was ill with gout at Hayes, and did not appear. There was no division; and on the 11th of March (1778), the King, seated on his throne, gave to all three measures the royal assent."[6]

Lord North and other members of his Administration were convinced that the American problem could not be solved by their own party; that such a work could be accomplished by the Earl of Chatham alone, as he had a few years before, by his skill and energy, when the affairs of America were in a desperate state after five years' unsuccessful war with France, dispossessed France, in the short space of two years, of every inch of American territory. The Duke of Richmond advocated immediate surrender of independence to the Americans, and peace with them, in order to avoid a war with France; he doubted the possibility of even Lord Chatham being able to effect a reconciliation between the American colonies and Great Britain. Three-fourths of a century afterwards, Lord Macaulay expressed the same opinion; but Lord Mahon, in his History, has expressed a contrary opinion, and given his reasons in the following words, well worthy of being carefully read and pondered:

"In the first place, let it be remembered with what great and what singular advantages Lord Chatham would have set his hand to the work. He had from the outset most ably and most warmly supported the claims of the colonists. Some of his eloquent sentences had become watchwords in their mouths. His statue had been erected in their streets; his portrait was hanging in their Council Chambers. For his great name they felt a love and reverence higher as yet than for any one of their own chiefs and leaders, not even at that early period excepting Washington himself. Thus, if even it could be said that overtures of reconciliation had failed in every other British hand, it would afford no proof that in Chatham's they might not have thriven and borne fruit.

"But what at the same period was the position of Congress? Had that assembly shown of late an enlightened zeal for the public interests, and did it then stand high in the confidence and affection of its countrymen? Far otherwise. The factions and divisions prevailing at their town of York (in Virginia, where they removed from Baltimore), the vindictive rigour to political opponents, the neglect of Washington's army, and the cabals against Washington's powers, combined to create disgust, with other less avoidable causes, as the growing depreciation of the paper-money, the ruinous loss of trade, and the augmented burdens of the war. Is the truth of this picture denied? Hear then, as witnesses, the members of Congress themselves. We find in this very month of March (1778), one of them write to another on the necessity of joint exertions to "revive the expiring reputation of Congress." (Letter from William Duer, of New York, to Robert Morris, dated March 6th, 1778, and printed in the Life of Reed, Vol. I., p. 365.) We find another lamenting that 'even good Whigs begin to think peace, at some expense, desirable.' (General Reed to President Wharton, February 1, 1778.)

"When such was the feeling in America, both as regarded Lord Chatham and as regarded the Congress, it would not certainly follow that any overture from the former would be rejected on account of the disapprobation of the latter. The provinces might, perhaps, have not been inclined to the deliberations, or even cast off the sway of the central body, and make terms of peace for themselves. At any rate, all such hope was not precluded; at least some such trial might be made.

"Nor does it appear to me, as to Mr. Macaulay, that there was any, even the slightest, inconsistency in Lord Chatham having first pronounced against the conquest of America, and yet refusing to allow her independence. After the declaration in her behalf of France, Lord Chatham had said, no doubt, that America could not be conquered. Had he ever said she could not be reconciled? It was on conciliation, and not on conquest, that he built his later hopes. He thought the declaration of France no obstacle to his views, but rather an instrument for their support. He conceived that the treaty of alliance concluded by the envoys of the Congress with the Court of Versailles might tend beyond any other cause to rekindle British feelings in the hearts of the Americans. Were the glories of Wolfe and Amherst, in which they had partaken, altogether blotted from their minds? Would the soldier-yeomen of the colonies be willing to fight side by side with those French whom, till within fifteen years, they had found in Canada their bitter hereditary foes? That consequences like to these—that some such revulsion of popular feeling in America might, perhaps, ensue from an open French alliance, is an apprehension which, during the first years of the contest, we find several times expressed in the secret letters of the Revolution chiefs; it was a possibility which we see called forth their fears; why then might it not be allowed to animate the hopes of Chatham?"[7]

But Lord Chatham was not destined even to try the experiment of giving America a second time to England; in a few days he fell in the House of Lords, to rise no more, with the protest on his lips against the separation of the American colonies from England. The Americans had no confidence in the professions of a Parliament and Ministry which had oppressed and sought to deceive them for twelve years. As low as the Congress had fallen in the estimation of a large part of the colonists, the English Ministry was regarded with universal distrust and aversion. The Congress refused even to confer with the Royal Commissioners, and had sufficient influence to prevent any province from entering into negotiations with them. All the former grounds of complaint had been removed by the three Acts of Parliament above referred to, and all the concessions demanded had been granted. The Royal Commissioners requested General Washington, on the 9th of June (1778), to furnish a passport for their Secretary, Dr. Ferguson with a letter from them to Congress; but this was refused, and the refusal was approved by Congress. They then forwarded, in the usual channel of communication, a letter addressed "To his Excellency Henry Laurens, the President, and other Members of Congress," in which they enclosed a copy of their commission and the Acts of Parliament on which it was founded; and they offered to concur in every satisfactory and just arrangement towards the following among other purposes:

"To consent to a cessation of hostilities both by sea and land;

"To restore free intercourse, to revive mutual affection, and renew the common benefits of naturalization through the several parts of this empire;

"To extend every freedom to trade that our respective interests can require;

"To agree that no military forces shall be kept up in the different States of North America without the consent of the General Congress, or particular Assemblies;

"To concur in measures calculated to discharge the debts of America, and to raise the credit and value of the paper circulation;

"To perpetuate our union by a reciprocal deputation of an agent or agents from the different States, who shall have the privilege of a seat and voice in the Parliament of Great Britain; or if sent from Great Britain, in that case to have a seat or voice in the Assemblies of the different States to which they may be deputed respectively, in order to attend to the several interests of those by whom they are deputed;

"In short, to establish the power of the respective Legislatures in each particular State; to settle its revenue, its civil and military establishment, and to exercise a perfect freedom of legislation and internal government; so that the British States throughout North America, acting with us in peace and war under one common sovereign, may have the irrevocable enjoyment of every privilege that is short of total separation of interests, or consistent with that union of force on which the safety of our common religion and liberty depends."[8]

The three Acts of Parliament and the proposals of the five English Commissioners were far in advance of any wishes which the colonists had expressed before the Declaration of Independence, and placed the colonists on the footing of Englishmen—all that the Earl of Chatham and Mr. Burke had ever advocated—all that the free, loyal, and happy Dominion of Canada enjoys at this day—all and nothing more than was required for the unity of the empire and of the Anglo-Saxon race; but the leaders of Congress had determined upon the dismemberment of the empire—had determined to sever all connection with the elder European branch of the Anglo-Saxon family—had determined, and that without even consulting the constituents whom they professed to represent, to transfer their allegiance from England to France, to bind themselves hand and foot to France—that they would make no peace with England, upon any terms, without the consent of the French Court.

It may be easily conceived what an effect would be produced upon the truly national mind of both England and America by such a transition on the part of the leaders of Congress and their representatives abroad—a transition which might be called a revolution, involving new issues and new relations of parties; for the question was no longer one of mere separation from England, much less the question of Stamp Acts, or taxation without representation, or suspension of charters—all acts and pretensions of this kind having been repealed and renounced; but the question was now one of union with the hereditary foe of England and her colonies; and the unnatural alliance contemplated the invasion of England by the French, the destruction of British commerce, the wresting from England of the West Indies as well as Canada,[9] and the possession by France of whatever islands or territory her navy and army should conquer.

All this was a different thing from mere independence of the mother country. The United Empire Loyalists and advocates of colonial rights were now subject to a new allegiance, and punished as rebels and their property confiscated if they would not unite with the French against their English forefathers and brethren. So enamoured were the leaders of Congress with their new allies, that they interrupted the reading of the official letter from the British Commissioners on account of a passage which reflected upon France, and debated three days whether they should allow the remaining part of the letter to be read.[10]

But the feelings of all classes in England, and of a large part, if not the great majority, of the colonists, were different from those of the leaders of Congress, now depleted of many distinguished men who attended its previous year's sittings.[11]

By this alliance with France the allied colonies became, as it were, a part of France, bound up in oneness with it—refusing all overtures or negotiations with the representatives of England without the approval of the French Court. The coasts, cities, towns, etc., of the American allies of France therefore became liable to the same treatment on the part of the British army and navy as the coasts, cities, and towns of France. Of this the British Commissioners informed the Congress, after the latter had declared its identity with France, and refused any further intercourse with them.[12]

The war for a short time after this period became more acrimonious and destructive on both sides than before, as between the French and English. But this policy of devastation and retaliation was disapproved of by the British Government—was confined mostly to some certain coast towns in New England, while in the South the conduct of Col. Campbell, on the subjugation of Georgia, was marked by lenity and generosity.