30. In the following campaign the daring Montcalm, with more than seven thousand French, Canadians, and Indians, advanced against Fort William Henry. For six days the French pressed the siege with vigor. The ammunition of the garrison was exhausted, and nothing remained but to surrender. Honorable terms were granted by the French. On the 9th of August the French took possession of the fortress. Unfortunately, the Indians procured a quantity of spirits from the English camp. In spite of the utmost exertions of Montcalm, the savages fell upon the prisoners and massacred thirty of them in cold blood.
31. Such had been the successes of France during the year, that the English had not a single hamlet left in the whole basin of the St. Lawrence. Every cabin where English was spoken had been swept out of the Ohio valley. At the close of the year 1757 France possessed twenty times as much American territory as England, and five times as much as England and Spain together.
32. William Pitt was now placed at the head of the English ministry. Loudoun was deposed from the American army. General Abercrombie was appointed to succeed him. General Amherst was to lead a division, and young Lord Howe was next in rank to Abercrombie. Three expeditions were planned for 1758: one to capture Louisburg; a second, to reduce Crown Point and Ticonderoga; and the third to retake Fort Du Quesne from the French. The first was successful, and on the 28th of July, Louisburg capitulated. Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island were surrendered to Great Britain. The garrison, numbering nearly six thousand men, became prisoners of war.
33. On the 5th of July General Abercrombie, with an army of fifteen thousand men, moved against Ticonderoga. On the morning of the 6th the English fell in with the picket line of the French. A severe skirmish ensued; the French were overwhelmed, but Lord Howe was killed in the onset. On the morning of the 8th, the English divisions were arranged to carry Ticonderoga by assault. A desperate battle of more than four hours followed, until, at six o'clock in the evening, the English were finally repulsed. The loss on the side of the assailants amounted in killed and wounded to nineteen hundred and sixteen. In no battle of the Revolution did the British have so large a force engaged, or meet such terrible loss.
34. The English now retreated to Fort George. Soon afterward three thousand men, under Colonel Bradstreet, were sent against Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, which, after a siege of two days, was compelled to capitulate. The fortress was demolished. Bradstreet's success more than counterbalanced the failure of the English at Ticonderoga.
35. Late in the summer General Forbes, with nine thousand men, advanced against Fort Du Quesne. Washington led the Virginia provincials. On the 24th of November he was within ten miles of Du Quesne. During that night the garrison took the alarm, burned the fortress, and floated down the Ohio. On the 25th the victorious army marched in, raised the English flag, and named the place Pittsburgh.
36. General Amherst was now promoted to the chief command of the American forces. By the beginning of summer, 1759, the British and colonial armies numbered nearly fifty thousand men. The entire French army scarcely exceeded seven thousand. Three campaigns were planned for the year: General Prideaux was to conduct an expedition against Niagara. Amherst was to lead the main division against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. General Wolfe was to proceed up the St. Lawrence and capture Quebec.
37. On the 10th of July, Niagara was invested by Prideaux. Two weeks later the fort capitulated, and the French, to the number of six hundred, became prisoners of war. At the same time Amherst was marching with an army of eleven thousand men against Ticonderoga. On the 22d of July the English forces landed, and on the 26th the garrison retreated to Crown Point. Five days afterwards they deserted this place also, and withdrew to Isle-aux-Noix, in the river Sorel.
MAP SHOWING THE COLONIES at the time of FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
38. Early in the spring General Wolfe began the ascent of the St. Lawrence. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand men, and a fleet of forty-four vessels. On the 29th of June General Monckton was sent to seize Point Levi.
39. On the 9th of July, General Wolfe crossed the north channel, and encamped on the east bank of the Montmorenci. This stream was fordable at low water. On the 31st of the month a severe battle was fought at the fords of the river, and the English were repulsed with heavy losses.
40. Exposure and fatigue threw the English general into a fever. It was decided to ascend the St. Lawrence, and gain the Plains of Abraham, in the rear of the city. The lower camp was broken up, and on the 6th of September the troops were conveyed to Point Levi. Wolfe then transferred his army to a point several miles up the river.
QUEBEC IN 1759.
41. On the night of the 12th of September, the English dropped down the river to a place called Wolfs Cove, and in the dawn of morning the general marshaled his army for battle on the Plains of Abraham. Montcalm was in amazement when he heard the news. With great haste the French were brought from the trenches on the Montmorenci, and thrown between Quebec and the English.
42. The battle began with an hour's cannonade. The Canadians and Indians were routed. The French regulars wavered and were thrown into confusion. Wolfe, leading the charge, was twice wounded, but pressed on. At the moment of victory a third ball pierced his breast, and he sank to the earth. "They run, they run!" said the attendant who bent over him. "Who run?" was the response. "The French are flying everywhere," replied the officer. "Do they run already? Then I die happy," said the expiring hero.
43. Montcalm, attempting to rally his regiments, was struck by a ball and mortally wounded. "Shall I survive?" said he to his surgeon. "But a few hours at most," answered the attendant. "So much the better," replied the heroic Frenchman; "I shall not live to witness the surrender of Quebec."
44. Five days after the battle, Quebec was surrendered, and an English garrison took possession of the citadel. On the 8th of September, in the same year, Montreal, the last important post of France in the valley of the St. Lawrence, was surrendered to General Amherst.
45. For three years the war between France and England continued on the ocean. The English fleets were everywhere victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of peace was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North America, eastward of the Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At the same time, Spain, with whom England had been at war, ceded East and West Florida to the English Crown. Thus closed the French and Indian War. By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages should not prevail in America, and that the powerful language, just laws, and priceless liberties of the English race should be planted forever in the vast domains of the New World.
THE American Revolution was an event of vast importance. The question decided by it was whether the English colonies in America should govern themselves, or be ruled by Great Britain. The decision was in favor of independence. The result has been the grandest republican government the world has ever known.
2. The most general cause of the Revolution was THE RIGHT OF ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the colonies. The question began to be discussed about the time of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748; and from that period until 1775, each year witnessed a renewal of the agitation. But there were also many minor causes tending to bring on a conflict with the mother-country.
3. First of these was the influence of France, inciting the colonies to rebel. The French had ceded Canada to Great Britain with the hope of securing American independence. England feared such a result. It was even proposed in Parliament to re-cede Canada to France, in order to check the growth of the American States.
4. Another cause was the natural disposition of the colonists. Many of the original settlers came to America to escape the tyranny of kings, and their descendants naturally favored a representative government. The dealings of the colonists with the royal officers had created a dislike for foreign institutions.
5. The growth of public opinion in the colonies tended to independence. The better class of men came to believe that a separation from England was very desirable. As early as 1755, John Adams, then a young school-teacher in Connecticut, wrote in his diary: "In another century all Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us."
6. Another cause of the Revolution was the personal character of the king. George III. was one of the worst of rulers, and had no true notion of human rights. His ministers were, for the most part, men like himself.
7. The more immediate cause of the war was the passage by Parliament of a number of laws destructive of colonial liberty. The first of these was the Importation Act of 1733. By this statute exorbitant duties were laid on sugar, molasses, and rum. In 1750 it was enacted that iron-works should not be erected in America. The manufacture of steel was forbidden, and the felling of pines outside of inclosures. These laws were disregarded by the colonists, who considered them unjust and tyrannical. In 1761 the courts were authorized to issue to petty officers search-warrants, called Writs of Assistance, by which constables might enter every place, searching for goods suspected of having evaded the duty. At Salem and Boston the writs were resisted.
8. In 1763, and again in the following year, the English officers were authorized to seize all vessels engaged in unlawful trade. Before this was known at Boston, a great town-meeting was held. Samuel Adams was the orator. A powerful argument was produced, showing that under the British constitution taxation and representation were inseparable.
9. On the 10th of March, 1764, Mr. Grenville, the prime minister, brought before the House of Commons a resolution that it would be proper to charge certain stamp-duties on the American colonies. The news of the measure was borne to America, producing universal excitement. Resolutions against the acts of the ministers were passed in almost every town. Remonstrances were addressed to the king and the Parliament.
10. Nevertheless, in March of 1765, the English Parliament passed the Stamp Act. In the House of Commons it received a majority of five to one. In the House of Lords the vote was unanimous. On the 22d of the month, the royal assent was given. Benjamin Franklin, then in London, wrote to a friend at home that the sun of American liberty had set.
11. The provisions of the Stamp Act were these: Every legal document required in the colonies should, after the 1st day of the following November, be executed on stamped paper to be furnished by the British government. For each sheet the colonists were required to pay a sum varying from three pence to six pounds sterling. Every pamphlet, almanac, and newspaper was to be printed on paper of the same sort, the value of the stamps ranging from a half-penny to four pence. No contract should be binding unless bearing the stamp.
12. The news of the hateful act created great wrath in America. The bells of Philadelphia and Boston rang a funeral knell. In New York a copy of the Stamp Act was carried through the streets with a death's-head nailed to it, and a placard bearing this inscription: The Folly of England and the Ruin of America. The general assemblies were at first slow to move; there were many old royalists among the members. But the younger representatives did not hesitate to express their sentiments. In the Virginia House of Burgesses there was a memorable scene.
13. Patrick Henry, the youngest member of the House, after waiting in vain for some older delegate to lead in opposition to Parliament, snatched a blank leaf out of an old law book and drew up a series of six resolutions, declaring that the Virginians were Englishmen with English rights; that the colonists were not bound to yield obedience to any law imposing taxation on them; and that whoever said the contrary was an enemy to the country.
Patrick Henry.
14. A violent debate ensued. Two future Presidents of the United States were in the audience: Washington as a delegate, and Thomas Jefferson, a young collegian, outside of the railing. The eloquent Henry bore down all opposition. "Cæsar had his Brutus," said the orator; "Charles I. had his Cromwell, and George III.—" "Treason!" shouted the speaker. "Treason! treason!" exclaimed the royalists, springing to their feet. "And George III. may profit by their example," continued Henry; and then added, "If that be treason, make the most of it!" The six resolutions were carried; but on the next day, when Henry was absent, the powerful aristocratic and church party secured the repeal of two of the more violent resolutions.
15. Similar resolutions were adopted by the assemblies of New York and Massachusetts. James Otis proposed an American Congress. The proposition was favorably received by nine of the colonies; and, on the 7th of October, the first colonial Congress, called the Stamp Act Congress, assembled at New York. Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, was chosen president. A Declaration of Rights was adopted setting forth that the American colonists, as Englishmen, could not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were sent to Parliament and a petition to the king.
16. On the 1st of November the Stamp Act was to take effect. During the summer great quantities of the stamped paper had been sent to America. But everywhere it was rejected or destroyed. The 1st of November was kept as a day of mourning.
17. At first, legal business was suspended. The court-houses were shut up. Not even a marriage license could be legally issued. By and by, the offices were opened, and business went on as before, but not with stamped paper. It was at this time that the patriotic society, known as the Sons of Liberty, was organized. The merchants of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia entered into a compact to purchase no more goods of Great Britain until the Stamp Act should be repealed.
18. The colonists had their friends in England. Eminent statesmen espoused the cause of America. In the House of Commons Mr. Pitt delivered a powerful address. "You have," said he, "no right to tax America. I rejoice that America has resisted." On the 18th of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was formally repealed. But at the same time a resolution was added, declaring that Parliament had the right to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever.
19. The repeal of the Stamp Act produced great joy, both in England and America. But on the 29th of June, 1767, another act was passed imposing a duty on all the glass, paper, painters' colors, and tea which should thereafter be imported into the colonies.
20. The resentment of the Americans burst out anew. Another agreement not to purchase British goods was entered into by the American merchants. The newspapers were filled with denunciations of Parliament. In the month of June, a sloop, charged with evading the payment of duty, was seized by the custom-house officers of Boston. But the people attacked the houses of the officers, and obliged the occupants to fly to Castle William. General Gage was now ordered to bring from Halifax a regiment of regulars and overawe the people. On the 1st of October the troops, seven hundred strong, marched with fixed bayonets into the capital of Massachusetts.
21. In February of 1769 the people of Massachusetts were declared rebels, and the governor was directed to arrest those deemed guilty and send them to England for trial. The general assembly met this outrage with defiant resolutions. Similar scenes were enacted in Virginia and North Carolina.
22. Early in 1770 the soldiers in New York cut down a liberty pole which stood in the park. A conflict ensued, in which the people won the day. On the 5th of March, a more serious difficulty occurred in Boston. A crowd of people surrounded Captain Preston's company of the city guard, hooted at them, and dared them to fire. At length the soldiers discharged a volley, killing three of the citizens and wounding several others. This outrage, known as the Boston Massacre, created a profound sensation. Captain Preston and his company were arrested and tried for murder. Two of the offenders were convicted of manslaughter.
Fight at the Liberty Pole, New York.
23. Parliament now passed an act repealing all duties on American imports except that on tea. The people, in answer, pledged themselves to use no more tea until the duty should be unconditionally repealed. In 1773 Parliament removed the export duty which had hitherto been charged on tea shipped from England. The price of tea was thus lowered, and the ministers thought that, when the cheaper tea was offered in America, the colonists would pay the import duty without suspicion. Ships were loaded with tea for the American market. Some of the vessels reached Charleston; but the chests were stored in cellars, and the contents ruined. At New York and Philadelphia the ships were forbidden to enter. At Boston the authorities would not permit the tea to be landed. On the 16th of December there was a great town-meeting, at which seven thousand people were present. Adams and Quincy spoke to the multitudes. Evening came on, and the meeting was about to adjourn, when a war-whoop was heard, and fifty men disguised as Indians marched to the wharf where the tea-ships were at anchor, boarded the vessels, and emptied three hundred and forty chests of tea into the bay. Such was the Boston Tea Party.
24. Parliament made haste to find revenge. On the last day of March, 1774, the Boston Port Bill was passed. It was enacted that no kind of merchandise should any longer be landed or shipped at the wharves of Boston. The custom-house was removed to Salem, but the people of that town refused to accept it. The inhabitants of Marblehead gave the free use of their warehouses to the merchants of Boston. When the news of the Port Bill reached Virginia, the burgesses entered a protest on their journal. Governor Dunmore ordered the members to their homes; but they met and continued their work in another place. On the 20th of May, the charter of Massachusetts was annulled. The people were declared rebels, and the governor was ordered to send abroad for trial all persons who should resist the officers.
25. In September the First Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia. Eleven colonies were represented. One address was sent to the king; another to the English nation; and another to the people of Canada. A resolution was adopted to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. Parliament retaliated by ordering General Gage to reduce the colonists by force. A fleet and ten thousand soldiers were sent to aid him.
26. Boston Neck was seized and fortified by the British. The stores at Cambridge and Charlestown were conveyed to Boston; and the general assembly was ordered to disband. Instead of doing so, the members voted to equip an army of twelve thousand men for defence. There was no longer any hope of a peaceable adjustment. The colonists were few and feeble; but they were men of iron wills who had made up their minds to die for liberty.
AS soon as the intentions of General Gage were known, the people of Boston, concealing their ammunition in carts, conveyed it to Concord. On the night of the 18th of April, Gage dispatched eight hundred men to destroy the stores. The plan of the British was made with great secrecy; but the patriots discovered the movement. When the regiment, under command of Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, set out for Concord, the people of Boston were roused by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon. William Dawes and Paul Revere rode with all speed to Lexington and spread the alarm through the country.
2. At two o'clock in the morning, a company of one hundred and thirty minute-men assembled on the common at Lexington. No enemy appeared until five o'clock, when the British, under command of Pitcairn, came in sight. The provincials were led by Captain Parker. Pitcairn rode up and exclaimed: "Disperse, ye villains! Throw down your arms!" The minute-men stood still, and Pitcairn cried, "Fire!" The first volley of the Revolution whistled through the air, and sixteen of the patriots fell dead or wounded. The rest fired a few shots and dispersed.
3. The British pressed on to Concord; but the inhabitants had removed the stores to a place of safety, and there was but little destruction. While the British were ransacking the town, the minute-men encountered a company of soldiers who were guarding the North Bridge. Here the Americans fired, and two British soldiers were killed. The rest began a retreat through the town toward Lexington. For six miles the battle was kept up along the road. Hidden behind trees, fences, and barns, the patriots poured a constant fire upon the ranks of the enemy. The American loss was forty-nine killed, thirty-four wounded, and five missing; that of the enemy was two hundred and seventy-three.
THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON
4. The battle of Lexington fired the country. Within a few days an army of twenty thousand men gathered about Boston. A line of intrenchments was drawn from Roxbury to Chelsea. John Stark came down with the New Hampshire militia. Rhode Island sent her men under Nathaniel Greene. Benedict Arnold came with the provincials of New Haven. Ethan Allen, with a company of two hundred and seventy patriots, advanced against Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold joined the expedition as a private. On the evening of the 9th of May, the force reached the shore of Lake George, opposite Ticonderoga.
5. On the following morning, eighty-three men succeeded in crossing. With this mere handful, Allen made a dash and gained the gateway of the fort. He rushed to the quarters of the commandant, and cried out: "Surrender this fort instantly!" "By what authority?" inquired the officer. "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," said Allen, flourishing his sword. The garrison were made prisoners and sent to Connecticut, and vast quantities of military stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Two days afterwards Crown Point was also taken.
6. On the 25th of May, Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne arrived at Boston. The British army was augmented to more than ten thousand men. It was now rumored that Gage was about to sally out of Boston to burn the neighboring towns and devastate the country. The Americans determined to anticipate this movement by fortifying Bunker Hill, which commanded the peninsula of Charlestown.
7. On the night of the 16th of June, Colonel Prescott was sent with a thousand men to intrench the hill. The provincials reached the eminence; but Prescott and his engineer, not liking the position, proceeded down the peninsula to Breed's Hill, within cannon range of Boston. Here a redoubt was thrown up during the night. The British ships in the harbor were so near that the Americans could hear the sentinels repeating the night-call, "All is well."
8. As soon as it was light, General Gage ordered the ships to cannonade the American position. The British batteries on Copp's Hill also opened fire. Just after noon, three thousand British veterans, commanded by Generals Howe and Pigot, landed at Morton's Point. The Americans numbered about fifteen hundred. Charlestown was burned by the British as they advanced. Thousands of spectators climbed to the house-tops in Boston to watch the battle. On came the British in a stately and imposing column.
VICINITY OF BOSTON.
9. The Americans reserved their fire until the advancing line was within a hundred and fifty feet. Then instantly every gun was discharged. The front rank of the British melted away, and the rest hastily retreated. Howe rallied his men and led the second charge. Again the American fire was withheld until the enemy was but a few rods distant. Then volley after volley was poured upon the column until it was broken and driven into flight.
10. The vessels of the British fleet now changed position until the guns were brought to bear upon the American works. For the third time, the British soldiers charged with fixed bayonets up the hillside. The Americans had but three or four rounds of ammunition remaining. These were expended on the advancing enemy. Then there was a lull. The British clambered over the ramparts. The provincials hurled stones at the assailants. It was in vain; they were driven out of their trenches at the point of the bayonet. The brave Warren gave his life for freedom. The loss of the British in the engagement was a thousand and fifty-four in killed and wounded. The Americans lost one hundred and fifteen killed, three hundred and five wounded, and thirty-two prisoners. Prescott and Putnam conducted the retreat to Prospect Hill.
11. The battle of Bunker Hill rather inspired than discouraged the colonists. The news was borne to the South, and a spirit of determined opposition was everywhere aroused. The people began to speak of the United Colonies of America. At Charlotte, North Carolina, the citizens came together in convention, and made a declaration of independence.
12. On the day of the capture of Ticonderoga, the Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia. Washington was there, and John Adams and Samuel Adams, Franklin and Patrick Henry; Jefferson came soon afterwards. A last appeal was addressed to the king; and he was told that the colonists had chosen war in preference to slavery. Early in the session John Adams made an address, in the course of which he noticed the necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief, and the qualities requisite in that high officer. The speaker concluded by putting in nomination George Washington, of Virginia. On the 15th of June, the nomination was confirmed by Congress; and the man who had saved the wreck of Braddock's army was called to build a nation.
13. George Washington was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the 11th of February (Old Style), 1732. At the age of eleven he was left to the sole care of his mother. His education was limited to the common branches of learning. Surveying was his favorite study. At the age of sixteen he was sent by his uncle to survey a tract of land on the South Potomac. The important duties which he performed in the service of the Ohio Company, and his campaign with Braddock have already been narrated. With great dignity he accepted the appointment of commander-in-chief, and set out to join the army at Cambridge.
14. Congress had voted to equip twenty thousand men, but the means of doing so were not furnished. Washington had a force of fourteen thousand five hundred volunteers, undisciplined and insubordinate. The supplies of war were almost wholly wanting. The army was soon organized in three divisions: the right wing was under General Ward, the left commanded by General Charles Lee, the center under the commander-in-chief. The siege of Boston was pressed with vigor. The king's authority was overthrown in all the colonies.
15. The Americans looked to Canada for aid. In order to encourage the people of that province to take up arms, Generals Schuyler and Montgomery were ordered to proceed against St. John and Montreal, both of which were finally taken. Montgomery next proceeded, with three hundred men, against Quebec. In the mean time, Colonel Arnold had set out with a thousand men from Cambridge. At Point aux Trembles he was joined by Montgomery, who assumed command. For three weeks, with his handful of troops, Montgomery besieged Quebec, and then staked everything on an assault.
16. Before daybreak on the 31st of December, Montgomery attacked the Lower Town. At the first discharge Montgomery fell dead. The men, heartbroken at their loss, retreated above the city. Arnold had meanwhile fought his way into the Lower Town, but was severely wounded and borne to the rear. Captain Morgan led his brave band along the narrow streets until he was overwhelmed and compelled to surrender. Arnold retired to a point three miles above the city. The small-pox broke out in the camp; and in the following June the Americans evacuated Canada.
AT last came the king's answer to the appeal of Congress. The petition of the colonies was rejected with contempt. By this tyrannical answer the day of independence was brought nearer. Meanwhile, General Howe had succeeded Gage in command of the British troops in Boston.
2. All winter long the city was besieged by Washington. By the first of spring, 1776, it was resolved to seize Dorchester Heights and drive Howe out of Boston. On the night of the 4th of March a detachment under cover of the darkness reached the Heights unperceived. The British noticed nothing unusual; but, when morning dawned, Howe saw at a glance that he must carry the American position or abandon the city. He ordered his men to storm the Heights before nightfall.
3. Washington visited the trenches and exhorted his men. It was the anniversary of the Boston Massacre. A battle was momentarily expected; but while the British delayed, a storm arose and rendered the harbor impassable, and the attack could not be made. Before the following morning the Americans had so strengthened their fortifications that all thoughts of an assault were abandoned. Howe found himself reduced to the extremity of giving up the capital of New England.
4. After some days there was an agreement between Washington and the British general that the latter should retire from Boston unmolested on condition that the city should not be burned. On the 17th of March, the whole British army sailed away. The American advance at once entered the city. On the 20th, Washington made a formal entry at the head of the triumphant army. The country was wild with delight. Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck in honor of Washington's victory over the enemy.
5. In a short time, the commander-in-chief repaired with the army to New York. General Lee pressed forward with the Connecticut militia, and reached that city just in time to baffle an attempt of Sir Henry Clinton, who next sailed southward, and was joined by Sir Peter Parker and Lord Cornwallis with two thousand five hundred men. The force of the British was deemed sufficient to capture Charleston.
6. The Carolinians, led by General Lee, rose in arms and flocked to Charleston. The city was fortified; and a fort, which commanded the entrance to the harbor, was built on Sullivan's Island. On the 4th of June the British squadron came in sight. On the 28th the British fleet began a bombardment of the fortress, which was commanded by Colonel Moultrie; but the walls, built of palmetto, were little injured. As evening drew on, the British were obliged to retire with a loss of two hundred men. The loss of the garrison amounted to thirty-two.
7. During the summer Washington's forces were increased to twenty-seven thousand men, but the effective force was little more than half that number. Great Britain was making the greatest preparations. By a treaty with some of the German States, seventeen thousand Hessians were hired to fight against America. Twenty-five thousand English troops were levied; and a million dollars were voted for the expenses of the war.
8. Thus far the colonists had claimed to be loyal subjects of Great Britain. Now the case seemed hopeless. The people urged the general assemblies, and the general assemblies urged Congress, to a declaration of independence. Congress responded by recommending the colonies to adopt such governments as might best conduce to the safety of the people.
9. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, offered a resolution in Congress declaring that the United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. A long and exciting debate ensued. The final consideration of Lee's resolution was postponed until the 1st of July. On the 11th of June, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed a committee to prepare a formal declaration.
Jefferson reading the Declaration in Committee.
10. On the 1st of July the committee's report was laid before Congress. On the next day Lee's resolution was adopted. During the 3d the formal declaration was debated with great spirit. The discussion was resumed on the 4th, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the Declaration of American Independence was adopted by a unanimous vote.
11. The old bellman of the State House rang out the note of freedom to the nation. The multitudes caught the signal and answered with shouts. Everywhere the declaration was received with enthusiastic applause. At Philadelphia the king's arms were torn down and burned in the street. At Williamsburg, Charleston, and Savannah there were bonfires. At Boston the declaration was read in Faneuil Hall. At New York the populace pulled down the statue of George III. and cast it into bullets. Washington ordered that the declaration be read at the head of each brigade.
12. The leading principles of the Declaration of Independence are these: That all men are created equal; that governments are instituted for the welfare of the people; that the people have a right to alter their government; that the government of George III. had become destructive of liberty; that the king's tyranny over his American subjects was no longer endurable; and that, therefore, the United Colonies of America are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.
13. Early in July, General Howe landed a force of nine thousand men on Staten Island. Thither Clinton came from the siege of Charleston, and Admiral Howe from England. The British force in the vicinity of New York amounted to thirty thousand men. Nearly half of them were Hessians. Washington's army was greatly inferior in numbers and discipline.
14. Lord Howe had been instructed to try conciliatory measures with the Americans. First, he sent to the American camp a dispatch directed to George Washington, Esquire. Washington refused to receive a communication which did not recognize his official position. Howe then sent another message, addressed to George Washington, etc., etc., etc.; and the bearer insisted that and-so-forth might mean General of the American Army. But Washington sent the officer away.