11. The Quakers were greatly encouraged with the success of their colonies in New Jersey. For more than a quarter of a century they had been buffeted with persecutions. But imprisonment and exile had not abated their zeal. The benevolent spirit of Penn urged him to find for his people an asylum in the New World. In June of 1680 he appealed to King Charles for the privilege of founding a Quaker commonwealth in America.
12. The petition was heard with favor. On the 5th of March, 1681, a charter was granted by Charles II., and William Penn became the proprietor of Pennsylvania. The vast domain embraced under the new patent was bounded on the east by the Delaware, extended north and south over three degrees of latitude, and westward through five degrees of longitude. The three counties of Delaware were reserved for the duke of York. Within a month from the date of his charter, Penn published a glowing account of his new country, promising freedom of conscience, and inviting emigration. During the summer three shiploads of Quakers left England for the land of promise.
13. During the winter of 1681-82, Penn drew up a constitution for his people. In the mean time, the duke of York had surrendered his claim to the three counties on the Delaware. The whole country on the west bank of the river, from Cape Henlopen to the forty-third degree of latitude, was now transferred to Penn, who, with a large company of emigrants, landed at New Castle on the 27th of October, 1682.
14. William Penn was born on the 14th of October, 1644. He was the oldest son of Sir William Penn of the British navy. At the age of twelve he was sent to the University of Oxford, where he distinguished himself as a student until he was expelled on account of his religion. Afterwards he traveled on the Continent, and then became a student of law at London. For a while he was a soldier, and was then converted to the Quaker faith. His father drove him out of doors, but he was not to be turned from his course. He proclaimed the doctrines of the Friends; was arrested and imprisoned, first in the Tower of London, and afterward at Newgate. Despairing of toleration in England, he cast his gaze across the Atlantic. West Jersey was purchased; Pennsylvania was granted by King Charles; and now Penn himself arrived in America to found a government on the basis of peace.
William Penn.
15. The Quaker governor delivered an affectionate address to the crowd of Swedes, Dutch, and English who came to greet him. His pledges of a liberal government were renewed, and the people were exhorted to sobriety and honesty. Friendly relations were established between the Friends and Red men. A great conference, appointed with the sachems of the neighboring tribes, was held on the banks of the Delaware. Penn declared his brotherly affection for the Indians. Standing before them, clad in the simple garb of the Quakers, he said:—"My Friends: We have met on the broad pathway of good faith. We are all one flesh and blood. Being brethren, no advantage shall be taken on either side. When disputes arise, we will settle them in council. Between us there shall be nothing but openness and love." The chiefs replied: "While the rivers run and the sun shines we will live in peace with the children of William Penn." And the treaty was sacredly kept. The Quaker hat and coat proved to be a better defense than coat-of-mail and musket.
16. In February of 1683 the native chestnuts, walnuts and elms were blazed to indicate the lines of the streets, and Philadelphia was founded. Within a month a general assembly was in session at the new capital. A democratic form of government was adopted. The growth of Philadelphia was astonishing. In 1683 there were only three or four houses. In 1685 the city contained six hundred houses; the schoolmaster had come, and the printing-press had begun its work. In another year Philadelphia had outgrown New York. In August of 1684 Penn took leave of his colony and sailed for England.
17. Nothing occurred to disturb the peace of Pennsylvania until the secession of Delaware in 1691. The three lower counties, which had been united on terms of equality with the six counties of Pennsylvania, became dissatisfied with some acts of the assembly and insisted on a separation. The proprietor gave consent; Delaware withdrew from the union, and received a separate deputy-governor.
18. In December of 1699 Penn visited his American commonwealth, and drew up another constitution, more liberal than the first. But Delaware would not accept the new form of government. In 1702 the assemblies of the two provinces sat apart; and in the following year Delaware and Pennsylvania were finally separated.
19. In July of 1718 the founder of Pennsylvania sank to rest. His estates, vast and valuable, were bequeathed to his three sons, John, Thomas, and Richard. By them, or their deputies, Pennsylvania was governed until the American Revolution. In the year 1779 the claims of the Penn family were purchased by the legislature of Pennsylvania for a hundred and thirty thousand pounds.
20. The colonial history of the State founded by Penn is one of special interest and pleasure. It is a narrative of the victories of peace, and of the triumph of peaceful principles over violence and wrong. It is doubtful whether the history of any other colony in the world is touched with so many traits of innocence and truth. "I will found a free colony for all mankind," were the words of William Penn. How well his work was done shall be told when the bells of his capital city shall ring out the glad notes of American Independence.
CAPTAIN John Smith was the first white man to explore the Chesapeake. In 1621 William Clayborne, an English surveyor, was sent out by the London Company to make a map of the country around the bay. By the second charter of Virginia that province included all of the present State of Maryland. To explore and occupy the country was an enterprise of the highest importance to the Virginians. In May of 1631 Clayborne was authorized to survey the country as far north as the forty-first degree of latitude, and to establish a trade with the Indians. In the spring of 1632 he began his important work.
2. The enterprise was attended with success. A trading-post was established on Kent Island, and another near Havre de Grace. The Chesapeake was explored and a trade opened with the natives. The limits of Virginia were about to be extended to the borders of New Netherland. But, in the mean time, religious persecutions were preparing the way for the foundation of a new State in the wilderness. Sir George Calvert, a Catholic nobleman of Yorkshire, better known by his title of Lord Baltimore, was destined to become the founder.
3. In 1629 he made a visit to Virginia. The general assembly offered him citizenship, but required such an oath of allegiance as no honest Catholic could take. Lord Baltimore thereupon left the narrow-minded legislators; returned to London; drew up a charter for a new State on the Chesapeake, and induced King Charles to sign it.
4. The provisions of the charter were ample. No preference was given to any particular religion. The lives and property of the colonists were carefully guarded. Arbitrary taxation was forbidden. The power of making the laws was conceded to the freemen of the colony.
5. Before the patent could receive the seal of state, Sir George Calvert died. His title descended to his son Cecil; and the charter was issued to him on the 20th of June, 1632. In honor of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I., the name of Maryland was conferred on the new province. In the fall of 1633 a colony numbering two hundred persons was collected. Leonard Calvert, a brother of Cecil, was appointed to accompany the colonists to America.
Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore.
6. In March of 1634 the immigrants arrived at Old Point Comfort. They proceeded up the bay and ascended the Potomac. Finding a half-deserted Indian village at the mouth of the St. Mary's, the English moved into the vacant huts. The rest of the town was purchased; and the name of St. Mary's was given to the colony. Friendly relations were established with the natives. The Indian women taught the wives of the English how to make cornbread, and the warriors instructed the colonists in the art of hunting. There was neither anxiety nor want in the colony. Within six months the settlement had grown into greater prosperity than Jamestown had reached in as many years.
7. In 1639 a representative government was established in Maryland. Hitherto a system of democracy had prevailed; each freeman had been allowed a vote in determining the laws. When the new delegates came together, a declaration of rights was adopted. All the liberal principles of the colonial patent were reaffirmed. The rights of citizenship were declared to be the same as those of the people of England.
8. In 1642 Indian hostilities were begun on the Potomac. But the settlements of Maryland were compact, and no great suffering was occasioned. In 1644 the savages agreed to bury the hatchet and to renew the pledges of friendship.
9. In 1650 the legislature of Maryland was divided into two branches. The rights of Lord Baltimore were defined by law. An act was passed declaring that no taxes should be levied without the consent of the assembly. Such was the condition of affairs in the colony of Maryland when the Commonwealth was established in England.
10. In 1651 parliamentary commissioners came to America to assume control of Maryland. Stone, the deputy of Baltimore, was deposed from office; but in the following year he was permitted to resume the government. In April of 1653 he published a proclamation, declaring that the recent interference had been a rebellion. Clayborne thereupon collected a force in Virginia, drove Stone out of office, and directed the government himself.
11. In 1654 a Protestant assembly was convened at Patuxent. The supremacy of Cromwell was acknowledged, and the Catholics were deprived of the protection of the laws. Civil war ensued. Governor Stone armed the militia, and seized the records of the colony. A battle was fought near Annapolis, and the Catholics were defeated, with a loss of fifty men. Stone was taken prisoner, but was saved from death by the friendship of some of the insurgents. Three of the Catholics were tried and executed.
12. After the death of Cromwell, Maryland was declared independent. On the 12th of March, 1660, the rights of Lord Baltimore were set aside, and the whole power of government was assumed by the House of Burgesses. On the restoration of monarchy the Baltimores were again recognized, and Philip Calvert was sent out as governor. From 1675 to 1691 Charles Calvert was governor of Maryland.
13. On the 1st of June, 1691, the charter of Lord Baltimore was taken away and a royal governor appointed. The Episcopal Church was established by law. Religious toleration was abolished and the government administered on despotic principles. This condition of affairs continued until 1715, when Queen Anne restored the heir of Lord Baltimore to the rights of his family. Maryland remained under the authority of the Calverts until the Revolution.
14. The first effort to colonize North Carolina was made by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1630 the country was granted to Sir Robert Heath. But, after thirty-three years, the patent was revoked by the English king. The name of Carolina had been given to the country by John Ribault, in 1562. The first actual settlement was made on the Chowan about the year 1651. In 1661 a company of Puritans settled on Oldtown Creek. In 1663 Lord Clarendon, and seven other noblemen, received a grant of all the country between the thirty-sixth parallel and the river St. John's.
15. The work of preparing a frame of government for the new province was assigned to Sir Ashley Cooper. The philosopher John Locke was employed by him and his associates to prepare the constitution. From March until July of 1669, Locke worked away in drawing up a plan which he called The Grand Model. It contained one hundred and twenty articles; and this was but the beginning! The empire of Carolina was divided into districts of four hundred and eighty thousand acres each. The offices were divided between two grand orders of nobility.
16. All attempts to establish the new government ended in failure. But the settlers had meanwhile learned to govern themselves. They grew prosperous by trading in staves and furs; and when this traffic was exhausted, they began to remove to other settlements.
17. The people of the colony were greatly oppressed with taxes. The trade with New England alone was weighed down with an annual duty of twelve thousand dollars. A gloomy opposition to the government prevailed; and when, in 1676, large numbers of refugees from Virginia arrived in Carolina, the discontent was kindled into an insurrection. The people seized Governor Miller and his council, and established a new government of their own. John Culpepper, the leader of the insurgents, was chosen governor. In 1679 Miller and his associates escaped from confinement and went to London. Governor Culpepper, who followed to defend himself, was seized, indicted for treason, tried, and acquitted. After a time new settlers came from Virginia and Maryland—Quakers from New England, Huguenots from France, and peasants from Switzerland.
18. The Indians of North Carolina gradually wasted away. Some of the nations were already extinct. The lands of the savages had passed to the whites, sometimes by purchase, sometimes by fraud. Of all the tribes of the Carolinas, only the Corees and the Tuscaroras were still formidable. These grew jealous and went to war with the whites.
19. On the night of the 22d of September, 1711, the savages fell upon the scattered settlements and murdered a hundred and thirty persons. Civil dissensions prevented the authorities from adopting vigorous measures of defence. But Colonel Barnwell came from South Carolina with a company of militia and friendly Indians; and the savages were driven into their fort. A treaty of peace was made; but, on their way homeward, Barnwell's men sacked an Indian village, and the war was at once renewed.
20. In the next year, Colonel Moore of South Carolina arrived with a regiment of whites and Indians, and the Tuscaroras were pursued to their fort, which was carried by assault. Eight hundred warriors were taken prisoners. The power of the hostile nation was broken; and the Tuscaroras, abandoning their hunting-grounds, marched across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, joined their kinsmen of New York, and became the sixth nation of the Iroquois.
21. In 1729 a separation was effected between the two Carolinas, and a royal governor was appointed over each. In spite of many reverses, the northern colony had greatly prospered. Intellectual development had not been as rapid as the growth in numbers and wealth. Little attention had been given to questions of religion. There was no minister in the province until 1703. Two years later the first church was built. The printing-press did not begin its work until 1754. But the people were brave and patriotic. They loved their country, and called it the Land of Summer.
IN January of 1670 the proprietors of Carolina sent out a colony under command of Joseph West and William Sayle. On the first high land upon the southern bank of the Ashley River were laid the foundations of Old Charleston, named in honor of Charles II. Sayle had been commissioned as governor of the colony, and he at once assumed control.
2. In 1671 he died, and West entered upon the duties of the vacant office. In a few months Sir John Yeamans, who had been governor of the northern province, was commissioned as chief magistrate of the southern colony. He brought with him to Ashley River a cargo of African slaves. Thus the labor of the black man was substituted for the labor of the white man, and in less than two years slavery was firmly established. The importation of negroes went on so rapidly that soon the negroes were twice as numerous as the white men.
3. During the year 1671 the country was rapidly filled with people. Fertile lands were abundant. Wars and pestilence had almost destroyed the native tribes. The proprietors of Carolina sent several ships to New York, loaded them with the discontented people of that province, and brought them to Charleston. Charles II. collected a company of Protestant refugees in Europe, and sent them to Carolina to introduce the silk-worm and to cultivate the grape.
4. In 1680 the present city of Charleston was founded. Thirty dwellings were erected during the first summer. The village immediately became the capital of the colony. The unhealthy climate retarded the progress of the new town, but the people were full of life and enterprise.
5. England, France, Scotland, and Ireland sent colonies to South Carolina. Especially did the French Huguenots come in great numbers, for they were now persecuted in their own country. They were met by the proprietors with a promise of citizenship; but the promise was not well kept, for the general assembly claimed the right of fixing the conditions of naturalization. Not until 1697 were all discriminations against the French immigrants removed.
6. In April of 1693 the proprietors of Carolina annulled the Grand Model, and Thomas Smith was appointed governor. He was soon superseded by John Archdale, a distinguished Quaker, under whose administration the colony entered upon a new career of prosperity. The quit-rents on lands were remitted for four years. The Indians were conciliated with kindness, and the Huguenots protected in their rights. It was a real misfortune when, in 1698, the good governor was recalled to England.
7. James Moore was next commissioned as chief magistrate. In December of 1705 he led an expedition against the Indians. On the 14th of the month the invaders reached a fortified town near St. Mark's. The place was carried by assault, and more than two hundred prisoners were taken. On the next day Moore's forces defeated a large body of Indians and Spaniards. Five towns were carried in succession, and the English flag was borne to the Gulf of Mexico.
8. In the first year of Governor Johnson's administration, an act was passed disfranchising all dissenters from the English Church, but Parliament voted that the act was contrary to the laws of England. In November of the same year the colonial legislature revoked the law; but Episcopalianism continued to be the established faith of the province.
9. In the spring of 1715 the Yamassees rose upon the frontier settlements and committed an atrocious massacre. The desperate savages came within a short distance of the capital, and the whole colony was threatened with destruction. But Governor Craven rallied the militia, and the savages were pursued to the banks of the Salkehatchie. Here a decisive battle was fought, and the Indians were completely routed. The Yamassees collected their tribe and retired into Florida.
10. At the close of the war the assembly petitioned the proprietors to bear a portion of the expense. But they refused, and would take no measures for the protection of the colony. The people, greatly burdened with rents and taxes, grew dissatisfied with the proprietary government. In the new election every delegate was chosen by the popular party. When James Moore, the new chief magistrate elected by the people, was to be inaugurated, Governor Johnson tried to prevent the ceremony. But the militia collected in the public square, and before nightfall the government of Carolina was overthrown. Governor Moore, the people's choice, was duly inaugurated in the name of King George I.
11. Still another change in colonial affairs was now at hand. In 1729 seven of the proprietors of Carolina sold their claims in the province to the king. The sum paid by George II. for the two colonies was twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds. Royal governors were appointed, and the affairs of the province were settled on a permanent basis.
12. The people who colonized South Carolina were brave and chivalrous. The Huguenot, the Scotch Presbyterian, the English dissenter, the Irish adventurer, and the Dutch mechanic, composed the material of the Palmetto State. Equally with the Puritans of the North, the South Carolinians were lovers of liberty. The people became the leaders in politeness and honor between man and man.
13. Georgia, the thirteenth American colony, was founded by James Oglethorpe, an English philanthropist. The laws of England permitted imprisonment for debt. Thousands of English laborers were annually arrested and thrown into jail. In order to provide a refuge for the poor and the distressed, Oglethorpe appealed to George II. for the privilege of planting a colony in America. The petition was favorably heard, and on the 9th of June, 1732, a charter was issued by which the territory between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, and westward to the Pacific, was granted to a corporation, to be held in trust for the poor. In honor of the king, the new province was named Georgia.
14. Oglethorpe, who was a brave soldier and a member of Parliament, was the principal member of the corporation. To him was entrusted the leadership of the first colony to be planted on the Savannah. By the middle of November a hundred and twenty emigrants were ready to sail for the New World. In January of 1733 the company was welcomed at Charleston. Further south the colonists entered the river, and on the 1st of February laid the foundations of Savannah.
James Oglethorpe.
15. The chief of the Yamacraws came from his cabin to see the new-comers. "Here is a present for you," said he to Oglethorpe. The present was a buffalo robe painted with the head and feathers of an eagle. "The feathers are soft, and signify love; the buffalo skin is the emblem of protection. Therefore love us and protect us," said the old chieftain. Seeing the advantages of peace, Oglethorpe invited a council at his capital. The conference was held on the 29th of May. Long King, the sachem, spoke for all the tribes. The English were welcomed to the country. Gifts were made, and the governor responded with words of friendship.
Oglethorpe and the Yamacraw Chief.
16. The councilors in England encouraged emigration. Swiss peasants, Scotch Highlanders, and German Protestants all found a home on the Savannah. In April of 1734, Oglethorpe made a visit to England. It was said in London that no colony was ever before founded so wisely as Georgia. The councilors prohibited the importation of rum. Traffic with the Indians was regulated by a license. Slavery was positively forbidden. While the governor was still abroad, a company of Moravians arrived at Savannah.
17. In February of 1736 Oglethorpe came back with a colony of three hundred. These were also Moravians, people of deep piety and fervent spirit. First among them was John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He came to Georgia to spread the gospel and convert the Indians. But he was doomed to much disappointment in his work; and after a residence of less than two years he left the colony. His brother, Charles Wesley, came also as a secretary to Governor Oglethorpe. In 1738 the famous George Whitefield came, and preached with fiery eloquence through all the colonies.
18. Meanwhile, Oglethorpe, anticipating war with Florida, began to fortify. All of Georgia was embraced in the Spanish claim. But Oglethorpe had a charter for the territory as far south as the Altamaha. In 1736 he ascended the Savannah and built a fort at Augusta. On the north bank of the Altamaha, he built Fort Darien. On St. Simon's Island a fortress was erected and named Frederica. The St. John's was claimed from this time forth as the southern boundary of Georgia. The governor again visited England, and returned with a regiment of troops.
19. In October, 1739, England published a declaration of war against Spain. In the first week of the following January, Oglethorpe invaded Florida, and captured two fortified towns. Soon, with a force of more than a thousand men, he marched against St. Augustine, but after a siege of five weeks was compelled to withdraw.
20. The Spaniards now determined to carry the war into Georgia. In June of 1742 a fleet of thirty-six vessels, carrying more than three thousand troops, sailed from St. Augustine for the reduction of Fort William on Cumberland Island. But Oglethorpe reinforced the garrison, and then fell back to Frederica. The Spanish vessels followed. From the southern point of the island to Frederica, Oglethorpe had cut a road which lay between a morass and a forest. The Spaniards must pass along this path to attack the town.
21. The English general posted his men between the swamp and the forest. On the 7th of July the enemy reached the pass, were fired on from the thicket, and driven back in confusion. The main body of the Spanish forces pressed on into the same position, stood firm for a while, but were presently routed with the loss of two hundred men. The name of Bloody Marsh was given to this battlefield. Within a week the whole Spanish force reembarked and sailed for Florida.
22. The colony of Georgia was now firmly established. In 1743 Oglethorpe departed for England, after having devoted ten years to the colony. He had never owned a house nor possessed an acre of ground in the province.
23. The regulations which the councilors for Georgia had adopted were poorly suited to the wants of the colony. The settlers had no titles to their lands. Estates could descend only to the oldest sons of families. The colonists charged their poverty to the fact that slave-labor was forbidden in the province. The proprietary laws became unpopular. The statute excluding slavery was not enforced. Slaves began to be hired, first for short terms of service, then for longer periods, then for one hundred years. Finally, slaves were brought directly from Africa and sold to the planters below the Savannah.
24. The new order of things was acknowledged by the councilors; and in June of 1752 they surrendered their patent to the king. A royal government was established over the country, and the people were granted the freedom of Englishmen. For some time the progress of the colony was not equal to the expectations of its founder, but before the Revolution Georgia had become a growing province.
THE time came when the American colonies began to act together. The final struggle between France and England for colonial supremacy in America was at hand. Necessity compelled the English colonies to join in a common cause against the foe. This is the conflict known as the French and Indian War. Causes of war had existed for many years.
2. The first of these causes was the conflicting territorial claims of the two nations. England had colonized the sea-coast; France had colonized the interior of the continent. The English kings claimed the country from one ocean to the other. The French, however, began to push their way westward and southward along the great lakes to the head-waters of the Wabash, the Illinois, and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the French was to divide the American continent and take the larger portion.
3. The French soon established military posts at Frontenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of Mackinaw, and on the Illinois. Before 1750, settlements had been made on the Maumee, at Detroit, at Green Bay, at Vincennes, at Kaskaskia, at Natchez, at New Orleans, and on the Bay of Biloxi. At this time the only outposts of the English were a fort at Oswego and a few cabins in West Virginia.
4. The immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between the frontiersmen of the two nations in the Ohio valley. In order to prevent the intrusion of the French fur-traders into this country, a number of Virginians joined themselves together in a body called the Ohio Company. In March of 1749, they received from George II. a land-grant of five hundred thousand acres, located between the Kanawha and the Monongahela. But before the company could send out a colony, the governor of Canada dispatched three hundred men to occupy the valley of the Ohio. In the next year, however, the Ohio Company sent out an exploring party under Christopher Gist, who traversed the country and returned to Virginia in 1751.
5. This expedition was followed by vigorous movements of the French. They built a fort called Le Bœuf, on French Creek, and another named Venango, on the Alleghany. About the same time, the country south of the Ohio was again explored by Gist and a party of armed surveyors.
6. The Indians were greatly alarmed at the prospect. They rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance was uncertain. In the spring of 1753, the Miami tribes, under the leadership of the Half-King, met Benjamin Franklin at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and made a treaty with the English.
7. Before proceeding to actual war, Governor Dinwiddie determined to try a final remonstrance with the French. A paper was drawn up setting forth the nature of the English claim to the valley of the Ohio, and warning the authorities of France against further intrusion. A young surveyor, named George Washington, was called upon to carry this paper from Williamsburg, Virginia, to General St. Pierre at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie.
8. On the last day of October, 1753, Washington set out on his journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an interpreter and Christopher Gist, the guide. At Logstown, Washington held a council with the Indians, and then pressed on to Fort Le Bœuf. Here the conference was held with St. Pierre. Washington was received with courtesy, but the general of the French was acting, he said, under military instructions, and would eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio.
Washington's Route to Ft. le Bœuf.
9. Washington soon took leave of the French, and returned to Venango. Then, with Gist as his sole companion, he left the river and struck into the woods. Clad in the robe of an Indian; sleeping with frozen clothes on a bed of pine-brush; guided at night by the North Star; fired at by a prowling savage from his covert; lodging on an island in the Alleghany until the river was frozen over; plunging again into the forest, the young ambassador came back without wound or scar to the capital of Virginia. The answer of St. Pierre was laid before the governor, and the first public service of Washington was ended.
10. In the mean time the Ohio Company had sent thirty-three men, under command of Trent, to erect a fort at the source of the Ohio. In March, 1754, they built the first rude block-house on the site of Pittsburgh. After all the threats of the French, the English had beaten them in seizing the key to the Ohio valley.
11. Soon, however, French boats came down the river; and Trent was obliged to surrender. Washington was now stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits. But it was too late to save Trent's men from capture. The French immediately occupied the post, built barracks and laid the foundations of Fort Du Quesne. To retake this place Colonel Washington set out from Will's Creek in May of 1754. The possession of the disputed territory was now to be determined by war.
12. Washington, with his little army of Virginians, was commissioned to build a fort at the source of the Ohio, and to repel all who interrupted the English settlements in that country. In April the young commander left Will's Creek, and on the 26th of May the English reached the Great Meadows. Here Washington was informed that the French were on the march to attack him. A stockade was immediately erected, and named Fort Necessity. Washington determined to strike the first blow. Two Indians followed the trail of the enemy, and discovered their hiding-place. The French were on the alert, and flew to arms. "Fire!" was the command of Washington; and the first volley of a great war went flying through the forest. The engagement was brief and decisive. Jumonville, the leader of the French, and ten of his party, were killed, and twenty-one were made prisoners.
13. Before advancing farther, Washington waited for reinforcements. Only one company of volunteers arrived. His whole force numbered scarcely four hundred. Learning that the French general De Villiers was approaching, Washington deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort Necessity.
14. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within the stockade, when, on the 3d of July, the regiment of De Villiers came in sight, and surrounded the fort. The French stationed themselves on the eminence, and fired down upon the English with fatal effect. The Indians climbed into the tree-tops. For nine hours the assailants poured a shower of balls upon Washington's men. At length, seeing that it would be impossible to hold out, he accepted the terms which were offered by the French general. On the 4th of July the English garrison marched out of the fort, and withdrew from the country.
15. Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at Albany. The first object was to renew the treaty with the Iroquois; the second, to unite the colonies in a common government. On the 10th of July, Benjamin Franklin presented the draft of a constitution, which was finally adopted. Philadelphia was to be the capital. The chief executive was to be a governor appointed by the king. Each colony should be represented in congress by not less than two or more than seven representatives.
16. Copies of this constitution were transmitted to the several colonies; but the new scheme of government was everywhere received with disfavor. The English ministers also rejected it, saying that the Americans were trying to make a government of their own. Meanwhile, the French were constantly preparing for war.
17. Early in 1755 General Braddock arrived in America; the plans of four campaigns were agreed on. Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that province. Governor Johnson, of New York, was to capture Crown Point. Shirley, of Massachusetts, was to take Fort Niagara. Braddock himself was to lead the main army against Fort Du Quesne.
18. In the latter part of April, the British general set out with two thousand veterans, from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland. A few provincial troops joined the expedition. Washington became an aide-de-camp of Braddock, and frequently gave him honest counsel, which the British general rejected.
19. Braddock marched with the main body. On the 19th of June he put himself at the head of twelve hundred chosen troops, and pressed forward toward Fort Du Quesne. On the 9th of July, when the English were only twelve miles from Fort Du Quesne, they were suddenly fired upon by the French and Indians, who were hidden among the rocks and ravines.
20. The battle began with a panic. The men fired constantly, but could see no enemy. Braddock rushed to the front and rallied his men; but it was all in vain. They stood huddled together like sheep. The forest was strewn with the dead. Out of eighty-two officers, twenty-six were killed. Of the privates seven hundred and fourteen had fallen. A retreat began at once, and Washington, with the Virginians, covered the flight of the army.
21. On the next day the Indians returned to Fort Du Quesne clad in the laced coats of the British officers. The wounded Braddock was borne in the train of the fugitives to Fort Necessity, where he died. When they reached Dunbar's camp the confusion was greater than ever. The artillery, baggage, and public stores were destroyed. Then followed a hasty retreat to Fort Cumberland, and finally to Philadelphia.
22. By the treaty of Utrecht, made in 1713, Acadia, or Nova Scotia, was ceded by France to England. The great majority of the people in that province were French, and the English government was only a military occupation. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War the population amounted to more than sixteen thousand. In a campaign of a month, the English now made themselves masters of the whole country east of the St. Croix.
23. The French inhabitants still outnumbered the English, and Governor Lawrence determined to drive them into banishment. The English officers first demanded an oath of allegiance, and the surrender of all firearms and boats. The British vessels were then made ready to carry the people into exile.
Embarkation at Acadia.
24. The country about the isthmus was now laid waste, and the peasants driven into the larger towns. Wherever a sufficient number could be got together they were compelled to go on shipboard. At the village of Grand Pré, more than nineteen hundred people were driven into the boats at the point of the bayonet. Wives and children, old men and mothers, the sick and the infirm, all shared the common fate. More than three thousand of the Acadians were carried away and scattered, helpless and half starved, among the English colonies.
25. The third campaign planned by Braddock was to be conducted by Governor Shirley against Fort Niagara. Early in August the attempt was made, but in October had to be abandoned.
26. The fourth expedition was intrusted to General William Johnson. The object was to capture Crown Point, and drive the French from Lake Champlain. Early in August the army proceeded to the Hudson above Albany, and built Fort Edward. Thence Johnson marched to Lake George and laid out a camp.
27. In the mean time, Dieskau, the French commandant at Crown Point, advanced with fourteen hundred French, Canadians, and Indians to capture Fort Edward. The Canadians and French regulars, unsupported by the Indians, then attacked the English position. For five hours the battle was incessant. Nearly all of Dieskau's men were killed. At last the English troops charged across the field, and completed the rout. Dieskau was mortally wounded. Two hundred and sixteen of the English were killed. General Johnson now constructed Fort William Henry on the site of his camp. Meanwhile, the French had fortified Ticonderoga. Such was the condition of affairs at the close of 1755.
Lake Champlain.
28. In the beginning of the next year the command of the English forces was given to Governor Shirley. Washington, at the head of the Virginia provincials, repelled the French and Indians in the valley of the Shenandoah. The expeditions, which were planned for the year, embraced the conquest of Quebec and the capture of Forts Frontenac, Toronto, Niagara, and Du Quesne.
29. The earl of Loudoun now received the appointment of commander-in-chief of the British forces. On the 17th of May Great Britain, after nearly two years of actual hostilities, made a declaration of war against France. In July Lord Loudoun assumed the command of the colonial army. The French, meanwhile, led by the marquis of Montcalm, who had succeeded Dieskau, besieged and captured Oswego.