History of the Reign of George III. (History of the Wars of the French Revolution, from ... 1792 to ... 1815; comprehending the civil history of Great Britain and France, during that period.)

Preface

. In sending forth to the Puhlic the two Volumes which complete the History of the Reign of George the Third, the author feels it incumbent upon him to apologize for their appearance so long after their first announcement. The delay has been principally occasioned by numerous and pressing engagements both of a public and private nature ; but he trusts it will not have been without its good effects, in enabling him to render his work more worthy of its great subject and of the public attention. Since the commencement of this work, under the title of History of the Wars of the French Revolution, the plans of the author have materially changed. His first design was much less ambitious than his subsequent views. He announced simply his intention to collect and arrange the materials which lay scattered through an immense mass of state papers and other publications, relative to the wars which had so long agitated the world ; and, when his task was completed, he claimed only " the honour of having faithfully discharged this humble but laborious duty."* No publication then extant furnished any connected account of this interesting period ; and it was his object to supply, with as little delay as possible, this great deficiency.

To facilitate his progress, and at the recommendation of the publisher and proprietor of Mr. Alex ander Stephens's History of the Wars, published in 1803, nearly half the details of the first volume were abridged from that work. He soon, how ever, resolved to add the civil to the military history of the period, and, as he proceeded, the narrative became more regular and original. His views still extending, he determined, at the period of the death of George the Third, to complete the History of the Reign of that monarch. This extension of design presented many advantages. It enabled him to show the exact condition of the country, both pre- Preface to the " History of the Wars of the French Revolution." a Li viously and subsequently to her unprecedented struggle of almost a quarter of a century ; to trace from its origin the system of administration which has characterized the reign ; to exhibit the entire public life of many of the greatest orators and statesmen whom England has known ; to relate the events of the American Revolutionary War, and thus to show the rise of the most flourishing republic of modern times ; to describe the establishment and character of our vast empire in the East ; to illustrate a new era in our manufactures and commerce ; and to display a great development of the public mind, and improvement in the national man ners — the product of our free institutions, but peculiarly characteristic of the last reign.

This design he has now accomplished, and, he trusts, in a manner not altogether unworthy of the subject. The history of the first thirty-two and the last five years of the Reign is regular in its plan, and wholly original in its composition. His work, as a whole, is deficient in uniformity, but he hopes that it will exhibit diligence and impar tiality in the author, and effect the great purpose of conveying accurate and useful information to the minds of his readers. In the preparation of that part of the history now published, he has derived great assistance from the co-operation of individuals in his own family. Of their aid he has availed himself without reserve, and he is proud to make the acknow ledgment. The two Volumes now published form the 1st and 4th, and the two previously published the 2d and 3d Volumes, of the History of the Reign.

The mode of publication has rendered two sets of Indexes necessary, — the first, relating to the History of the Wars, inserted at the end of the second volume of that history ; and the second, relating to Vols. I. and IV. of the History of the Reign, inserted at the end of the work. DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER, TO BE OBSERVED IN THE FIRST AND LAST VOLUMES. The Plate of George III. to stand opposite the title in the first volume. Earl of Chatham to front page 256 of Vol. I. General Washington to front page 424- of Vol. I. The preface to follow the title in Vol. I.

ADVERTISEMENT.

. The present Work, when added to " The History of the Wars of the French Revolution," by the same Author, will complete the Reign of George III. The epochs into which the Reign naturally divides itself are three : — First, From the Accession of his Majesty in 1760, to the breaking out of the War in 1792. Second, From the Commencement of the Revolutionary War to the Peace of Paris, in 1815. Third, From the Restoration of a General Peace in 1815, to the Death of the King, in 1820. The middle portion of the Work is already published, and, through the favour of the Public, has been circulated to an unexampled extent. The arrangement of the Volumes will be this : The first portion of the History will form the first Volume ; " The Wars of the French Revolution," the second and third Volumes ; and the History of the Events in the interval between the Exile of Napoleon to St. Helena and the death of the King, the fourth Volume.

By which arrangement the two Volumes already bound will remain undisturbed, except the lettering on the Back of the Book, which, for uniformity's sake, may then be inscribed " History of the Reign qf George III. Vol. 2. and Vol. 3." Sect. I,

Introduction

. Section I. — State of the Country on the Accession qf George III — Government Commerce and Manufactures — Army — Navy — Foreign Possessions, European, North American^ West Indian, East Indian — Finance — Political Parties — Ministry — Literature. Section II. — Sovereigns of Europe in 1760 — Origin qfthe German War — Outline of Military Operations in Germany, from the breaking out qf the War in 1756, to the death of George II— Naval Operations— Capture qf Quebec — Conquest qf Canada — Death of George II.

Section I

tages of trade. Its manufactures were protected by "wise regulations : the industry of the people was encouraged and slimulated ; and the powerful fleet which preserved the land from invasion, guarded and facilitated its commerce. But, above all, the freedom of its government was a source of the prosperity and greatness of England. The weakness of a king, or the incapacity or wickedness of a minister, which in arbitrary governments have the most pernicious effect on the interests of the nation, could only produce very partial injury, when re stricted by the barriers of the constitution, and superintended by the watchful eyes of a free and enlightened people. The democratic branch of the legislature vigilantly guarded the interests of the people ; and, the great end of all government being answered, in the equal dispensation of jus tice, and in the freedom enjoyed by every class of the community, the several tracks of literature and science, commerce and trade, were pursued without fear or interruption, and consequently with success. \J N the accession of George the Third to the British Throne, this country ranked with the first nations of the world, in the arts of civiliza tion, in colonial possessions, and in military and naval strength ; while it surpassed them all in commercial opulence, in the freedom of its govern ment, and in the excellence of its laws.

Many circumstances had combined to render it thus great and prosperous. Its insular situation made it difficult of approach to the continental sovereigns, for any purpose of ambition or revenge ; and the formidable navy which guarded its shores, so effectually repelled any attempt at invasion, that its women, for seven centuries, had never seen the smoke of the enemy's camp. Except, therefore, by the ancient predatory incursions of its northern neighbours, and the infrequent occur rence of civil broils, the towns and the fields of England had never been devastated by war ; and the uninterrupted labours of the merchant and the farmer built on a solid basis the national prosperity. The enlightened policy of its government tended not less to secure to it all the advan- The government of England had been, since the Revolution of 1688, the envy and admiration of the world.

Superior to the best models of Vol. I. A of the Old. The wealth of Hindostan, the luxuries of the West India Islands, the valuable produce of Virginia, and the exhaustless fisheries of the north, were, objects at which her merchants eagerly grasped, and encountered every danger to secure. Sometimes their avidity over-reached itself, and tempted the exertion of exhausting efforts to attain a worthless prize. But more frequently it was well rewarded, and opened many sources of wealth, of which this country has enjoyed a large and increasing portion to the present time. Every settlement afforded an outlet to her manufactured goods, and her ships returned laden with valuable produce from all parts of the world. At the conclusion of the reign of George II. her trade and commerce had advanced to an unexampled pitch ; and, strengthened and invigorated by every fresh instance of success, gave reasonable hopes of a still further advancement.

Her towns grew in wealth and populousness ; the most spacious and sightly structures were entirely devoted to purposes of trade ; her flourishing seaports on every hand presented works of amazing magnitude, in the construction of docks and harbours ; and the inland conveyance was so much increased, that innumerable roads and canals were cut, which disseminated wealth and comfort to every part of the kingdom. Prior to the feign of George II. England could not be styled a military nation. Under Queen Anne, indeed, Marlborough reaped a rich harvest of glory, with British troops, on the fields of Flanders and Germany. The intrepidity and courage of our soldiers were at all times indisputable : the people are naturally and temperamentally brave. But, till that period, a standing army had been considered in this country an unconstitutional and dangerous appendage to the state.

It was known by experience, that an army is too often the mere tool of an ambitious monarch, with which he games for empire ; and that, if he lose, the shame and misery of the vanquished await his subjects, while, if he win, it is at the expense of their treasure and blood. Experience also taught, that those kings who have gained a deathless infamy by subverting the liberties of their people, have been indebted for their success to the unanswerable argument of the sword, Wielded by a standing army. The constant habit of unquestioning obedience among the soldiers, the entire dependence of their officers on the crown, and the general ignorance of political rights prevalent among military men, render a standing army the fittest instrument for the support of despotic power, and for the annihilation of na tional freedom.

On these grounds, as well as because it was entirely useless to this country, while a powerful navy was maintained, a standing army was considered unconstitutional, and is, in form, to this day so acknowledged, by antiquity, and to every existing government, it united the advantages, while it excluded the inconveniences, of the several forms of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. The subjects shared in the councils of the king ; and by their representatives, maintained that power in the legislature, which secured their rights and interests from being impaired by the encroachments of the peerage or the crown. An enlightened and patriotic nobility constituted another branch of the legislature ; and was admirably calculated to form a counterpoise to the democracy, to add stability to the government, and to stand as a middle body between the throne and the people, interested equally in opposing regal ambition and popular licentiousness.

To the crown, the English constitution imparted security, dignity, and strength. Though the least arbitrary monarch in Europe, the King of England was the most powerful. Though incapable of acting in defiance of the will of his subjects, he was, when supported by their affections, and aided by their co-operation, more mighty than the most despotic of the continental sovereigns. It did not detract from the dignity of his sceptre, that the meanest individual of his realm could not be wantonly smitten by it ; since, in the administration of justice and in the cause of his people, it ruled with resistless strength, to the punishment of the guilty, and the terror of the foe. The laws, wise and excellent, reigned paramount in the kingdom : none dared to dispute their authority, and all found safety beneath their shelter.

The trade and commerce of this country had, some centuries back, been of very respectable extent ; and in proportion as the arts of civilization advanced, and freedom became established, the enterprise of the merchant was increased, and the industry of the labourer was stimulated. During the last century and a half, British manufactures had rapidly improved in quality and extent. They were materially assisted in their growth,, by the ruin of the manufactures of Flanders, and their transference to this country ; and by the influx from France of skilful artizans, bringing with them their capital and their craft, which took place on the revocation of the edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. Great Britain was well remunerated for the asylum which she granted, by the benefits which she received from the refugees.

Her commerce had enlarged with still more surprising rapidity. Her navigators early became emulous of the Portuguese, when the sailors of that nation were the first in the world ; and they soon outstripped their exemplars in skill and enterprise. Their vessels launched into the wide Pacific, and braved the storms of the Southern Capes, to extend geographical knowledge, and to satiate the cupidity of the adventurous. Colonies and factories Were established on the distant shores of the New Continent, and in the remotest parts

INTRODUCTION.

. 7 Sect. I. the yearly passing of the mutiny bill, the preamble of which declares, that the maintenance of a standing army in time of peace, unless by consent of Parlia ment, is contrary to law. On the accession of the present family to the throne, the Electorate of Hanover and the British Isles owned one sovereign ; and thenceforward, notwithstanding legis lative enactments and parliamentary protestations to the contrary, England was involved in con tinental wars for the protection and assistance of Hanover. Under George II. a regular standing army was maintained, and has from that time been kept up and increased, — a heavy burden in time of peace, and a constant temptation to under take war. Hessians and Hanoverians were also kept in pay, and were joined to the British forces in the continental wars.

On the accession of George III. this country was engaged in the German war. In the year 1760, the land forces allowed by Par liament for Great Britain, and for the conducting of the war in Germany, were fifty-seven thousand men. More than half as many troops were required for America and the other colonies ; and four regiments were maintained in Ireland. This country also kept in pay sixty-nine thousand men, being the troops of Hanover, Hesse, and other Ger man states. The total expense of these forces was four million nine hundred and seventy-four thousand five hundred and sixty-nine pounds. The navy of England rose to a pre-eminence over that of all other nations in the reign of Eli zabeth. The destruction of the Spanish Armada, the most formidable naval force which had ever England and France, the Mediterranean, the East and West Indies, and the St. Lawrence, demanded large fleets, for purposes of defence and aggression.

The number of her ships of war, carrying above fifty guns each, was, on the home station, sixty-two ; in the East Indies, seventeen ; in the West Indies, twenty ; in North America, twelve ; and in the Mediterranean, ten. Amounting to one hundred and twenty-one ships, carrying 8,040 guns ; besides a vast number of frigates and smaller vessels of war. The number of men granted by Parliament for sea-service was seventy thousand, including eighteen thousand three hundred and fifty-five marines ; and the expense of the navy to the country, in 1760, was four million seventy-two thousand six hundred and twenty-nine pounds. The British navy, unlike that of France, was well manned and equipped, and was calculated to annoy the shores of the latter country, to capture her colonies, and to distress her commerce.

When there was any reason to apprehend that the oftenthreatened invasion of Great Britain would be attempted by the French, the English fleets bore down upon their coasts, ravaging or blocking up their harbours, destroying their ships and stores, and bombarding their fortified sea-ports. To no means of defence did this country so carefully attend as to her navy, and to none was she so much indebted for her security and glory. The foreign possessions of Great Britain were, at this period, numerous and extensive. They lay chiefly in the islands and on the continent of America. In Europe, the only place which the English possessed, beyond the immediate vicinity of the British Isles, was Gibraltar. This port is situated on an isthmus at the southern extremity of Spain, and in a great measure commands the entrance to the Mediterranean.

It was conquered by the British in 1704, and has since remained in their possession, in spite of the numerous attacks of the French and Spanish, to both of whom it is the means of considerable annoyance in time of war. Gibraltar is rendered impregnable by nature and art, and forms a very strong and important, though expensive position. In America, the British were in possession of that part of the continent now included under the denomination of the United States ; with Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, and the two Canadas, the far greater portion of which they had wrested from the French, after a long and desultory contest, which was terminated by the capture of Quebec, and by the total expulsion of the French in 1760. Several years prior to this, the French, who were at that time masters of Canada, had begun to make unwarrantable encroachments on the territories in possession of the British, and had excited the Indians to acts of rapine and hostility against their inhabitants.

The British retaliated ; skirmishing took place between the parties ; forts were erected and captured ; and, been seen, raised its fame to an unexampled height, and inspired the sailors with a confidence they never before possessed. The exploits of the British admirals in that and every succeeding reign, had perfected the nautical skill of the mariners, and established beyond dispute the unequalled glory of the navy. It is not unworthy of observation that the fleets of every country in Europe decreased in strength and efficiency, in proportion as the liberties of those countries were narrowed. It might naturally, therefore, be expected, that that nation which confirmed and improved its civil institutions, would enlarge and strengthen its naval force. Every invasion of each other's territories, among the continental sovereigns, showed more clearly to the English government the expediency of maintaining unreduced that naval predominance, which rendered her shores impregnable.

With the increase of her commerce, also, a much larger number of her population became interested in its protection from foreign cruisers and privateers ; and the influence of the English people in the legislature enabled them to attain the desired means of defence. On the decease of George II. England was at war with the greatest of the maritime powers of Europe, and was in the full tide of colonial acquisition. The shores of the rest were Barbadoes, St. Christopher's, Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, the Virgin Islands, New Providence, the Bermudas, and Guada loupe. In these islands, the luxuries of Europe were manufactured by the wretched natives of Africa, who, dragged from their homes by the ruthless avarice of slave dealers, were condemned to labour like beasts of burden under the lash of the West India planters.

The negroes constituted the chief value of an estate, and their price was estimated, like that of horses, solely by their capa city for toil. Their sufferings often drove them to desperation; and a dangerous insurrection broke out in Jamaica, in the year 1760, which was with great difficulty quelled. The produce of the fslands was chiefly sugar, rum, spices, coffee, and dyewoods. They were supplied from America and Europe with provisions, utensils, and most of the necessaries of life. On the coast of Africa, the only possessions of the English were the small island of Goree, and Fort St. Louis, on the river Senegal, which were captured from the French in 1759- long before a declaration of war between the two nations took place in Europe, open hostilities were carried on in Nova Scotia. During the first years of the war, feeble and ill-judged efforts were made by the British ; and their opponents, aided by the crafty and warlike Indians, strengthened their line of forts.

In 1758, the tide of success turned ; and, having received strong reinforcements from home, which rendered them much superior to the French, the British captured most of the hostile fortresses. In September, 1759, Quebec was taken by General Wolfe ; and the last of the French positions, Montreal, was captured by General Amherst in the following year. These colonies were of small value, though of very considerable ex tent ; they were very thinly inhabited, and a large portion of their shipping was employed in the pro ductive fisheries of the St. Lawrence and the bank of Newfoundland. In Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England, the foundations of a great empire were already laid. An almost boundless territory, an excellent soil, an unrivalled inland navigation, and a coast indented with fine bays and harbours, commodious for the purposes of commerce and ship building, conspired to render that portion of Ame rica suitable for the seat of a powerful nation, and apparently destined to future greatness.

Large and populous cities were already founded, which increased in trade and opulence with astonishing rapidity. The inhabitants, consisting principally of emigrants from England and other European countries, carried with them the arts of civiliza tion and the spirit of independence. United to the mother country by the ties of affection and of interest, they yet felt their own consequence and maintained their dignity. Their language customs, and laws were English, and with these they carefully cherished an English love of liberty and hatred of oppression. The different states formed very valuable colonies to this country. Their value did not consist in any revenue ob tained from them by tax or tribute, but in the large demand which they occasioned for British manufactures of all descriptions, in the produce which they returned for goods, and in the increased trade which by these means was produced to the merchants and shippers of the mother country.

The woollens, cottons, hardware, and stationary, of England, were exchanged for the tobacco, raw cot ton, rice, tar, and timber, of America. During the hostilities with the French in Canada, the Americans raised an army of twenty-five thousand men, which acted with great efficiency against the enemy. A few years previous to the accession of George III. the sole possessions of the English in the East Indies were a few isolated factories and settlements, belonging to the East India Company, on the coasts of Hindostan. These factories were established altogether for purposes of trade ; but were all of them fortified, and. provided with a small number of soldiers and with military stores, to enable them to make a defence, should any of the native princes or military banditti of India be tempted by desire of plunder to assault them.

On the western or Malabar coast, the most northern of the settlements was Surat ; and on the same coast were Bombay, on the small island of Salsette, Carwar, Tellicherry, Calicut, and Anjengo. On the Coromandel or eastern coast, Fort St. David was the most southerly of the English settlements ; and further north were Cuddalore, Fort St. George, immediately contiguous to the city of Madras, Masulipatam, at the mouth of the River Kistnah, Vizagapatnam, and Eert William, adjoining the town of Calcutta, on the Hoogley, a branch of the Ganges, and in the province of Bengal. Attached to each of these, were several minor factories and dependencies. At the peace of Aix la-Chapelle, in 1748, these were the whole of the British possessions in India. The East India Company, under whose controul they were, originally received its charter from Queen Elizabeth in the year 1600.

Imperfect as this charter was, not having received the sanction of parliament, the Old Company continued to trade under it for upwards of a century. In 1698, a distinct par liamentary charter was procured by a New Com pany ; and the two companies maintained their separate establishments till the year 1708, when they were consolidated into one by act of parfia- Many of the West India Islands were sub ject to the British power. Of these some had been originally settled by the English, and others had been taken from France in the course of the war. Jamaica ranked first in extent and in value :

INTRODUCTION.

. 9 Sect. I, ment, and obtained a charter under the title of " The United Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies." The business of the company was carried on by a Court of Directors ; and in India, by governors at the separate establishments, and by the presidencies of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. The government was thus in fact an oligarchy, though in form a democracy ; the court of directors being elected by the whole body of the proprietors, but generally retaining their direc torial office for many years. All the officers, military and civil, in India, were subject to this court. enmity to each other, were both eager to take ad vantage of the intrigues and contests of the native princes, to strengthen themselves and annoy their opponents. In a contest between the Subahdar of Deccan, a province comprehending the whole of the southern part of Hindostan, and a claimant to that government, the English joined with the subahdar, and the French took the part of the pretender.

The success was various and fluctuat ing, till at length, after many revolutions among the Indian princes, the French power, under the aspiring and crafty Dupleix, predominated in the Carnatic, and under M. Bussy, guided the councils and strengthened the authority of the subahdar. The well timed reinforcements of the English, and the egregious blunders of the French East India Company, completely reversed the circumstances of the contending parties, and caused the total ex pulsion of the latter from the Carnatic. Dupleix, than whom no man was better fitted to outwit the natives and to annoy the English, was superseded in the midst of his ambitious and half-executed projects, by an ignorant commissioner, who pre cipitated a most disadvantageous treaty with his enemies ; and M. Lally, who succeeded him, was so cramped in his exertions by the want of money and stores, as to be unable to take advantage of that superiority of his troops, which at one time threatened the extinction of the English authority in the Carnatic.

In a decisive battle, which was fought by him against Colonel Coote at Wande wash, he was totally defeated ; and was in a few months deprived of nearly all the forts in posses sion of the French, and shut up, with his diminished forces and scanty stores, in the town of Pondicherry. In this situation he remained for many months, totally unrelieved, prolonging, with great skill and gallantry, a hopeless de fence against the superior forces of the English, till at length he was compelled to capitulate on the 14th of January, 1761. The siege of the last two forts which remained to the French in the Carnatic was immediately undertaken, and on the 5th of April, by the surrender of Gingee, the French were totally expelled from the peninsula of India. In the Indian peninsula, as well as on the continents of Europe and America, the English and the French were rivals in trade and enemies in war.

A commercial company of the latter nation had factories and forts, similar to the Eng lish, in several parts of Hindostan. Their chief settlement was Pondicherry, situated between Ma dras and Fort St. David ; they had also factories at Chandernagore, situated on the Ganges above Calcutta, at Surat, and at Calicut. It is not to the honour of the English, that the first time the sword was drawn between the Europeans and the natives, was in an unjust attempt made by the English governor of Fort St. David, from sordid motives, to displace the Rajah of Tanjore, whom he had acknowledged, and to confer the government on another claimant. Having obtained the promised reward, he abandoned his protege ; but an example was set of a practice, which after wards produced consequences most fatal to the natives, though most advantageous to the English, which was the interference of Europeans in the quarrels and intrigues of the Indian princes.

A new era in Indian politics was commenced ; and, instead of the peaceful and industrious habits of commerce, thenceforward the councils of the com pany's servants were chiefly devoted to the spirit of ambition, the practice of intrigue, and the conduct of war. At this period the whole of Hindostan acknowledged subjection to the Great Mogul, who held his court at Delhi. His vast dominions were di vided into subahs, each of which was much larger than most European kingdoms, and which were governed by viceroys or subahdars. The subahs were again divided into provinces, at the head of which were nabobs ; and these into still smaller divisions, under zemindars. The general character of all these chiefs was a compound of perfidy, cunning, and ambition. Right and justice were feeble restraints upon them, and strength alone acquired or maintained authority.