History of the American Wars ... Being a complete history of the United States, from ... 1775 to 1815. With a historical introduction, etc

Introduction

. BY R. THOMAS, A. M. Sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge. ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHTY-ONE ENGRAVINGS. HARTFORD: PUBLISHED BY E. STRONG 1845. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1844, BY EZRA STRONG, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. STEREOTYPED BY GEORGE A. CURTIS, NEW ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, BOSTON.

Preface

. The history of the two great Avars, which the American states maintained against Great Britain, constitutes the most interesting portion of our national annals, and it has been looked upon as a serious deficiency in our libraries that they possess no properly executed Avork embracing that important period distinguished by these events. Separate histories of both the Avars have been Avritten by many hands, but the Avant has been felt of a continuous history, commencing Avith the outbreak of the revolutionary hostilities, and brought doAvn to the termination of the Avar of 1812, Avhen the United States of America, having emerged Avith success from a second grand struggle Avith the greatest naval poAver of Europe, took a prominent rank among the nations of the earth, and convinced the people of the old Avorld, by evidences not to be mistaken, that a powerful empire Avas rising in the Avest, under the auspices of the free institutions of America.

In attempting to supply this deficiency, the author of the following Avork has, of course, been compelled to go over ground Avhich has been traversed by many a preceding Avriter. Yet he has not confined himself to a bare repetition of the facts Avhich the pages of those Avriters already pre sent. He has sought for neAv facts, new illustrations, and L# VI

PREFACE.

. new attractions for the reader. He has endeavored to com bine a proper degree of entertainment with the solid useful ness of an accurate historical Avork. Anecdotes and minute details have been introduced occasionally, not only to give variety and picturesqueness to the narrative, but as serving the main purpose of historical writing, by affording occasional glimpses into the genuine spirit and temper of the times, and placing the scenes and personages before the reader's eye with a dramatic vividness, which is doubly sure to arouse the attention and dAvell long upon the memory. The author trusts that he has done adequate justice to the patriotism, courage, and virtues of our revolutionary sires, and the heroic combatants by land and sea, who so nobly vindicated their country's honor, and covered with glory the star-spangled banner during the late war with the " mistress of the ocean."

It has been his object to set forth the achievements of the American arms Avith the full meed of praise to Avhich our brave soldiers and sailors are entitled, and on all occasions to excite a proper national feeling. At the same time he has studied to observe a strict and honest impartiality in the narrative, and to do justice to the motives of all parties. The reader, it is believed, will find this volume a more full, accurate and satisfactory compendium of the history of the United States, during the period embraced in it, than any publication, in a popular shape, that has yet appeared. In the style and illustrations, the author has studied clear ness and perspicuity, and in the occasional remarks and moral reflections, he has introduced such sentiments as, it is hoped, will have a tendency to strengthen our esteem for the wise and good men of our country, and augment the attachment of every American to the free institutions under which we live. Q NfiÆH 9 N060 CONTENTS.

Chapter II

American Revolution. — State os feeling among the North American colonists — Loyalty of the Americans — Effect of the peace of Paris — Political privileges of the colonies — Scheme for taxing the Americans— Resolutions of the House of Commons — Imposition of duties on imports — Penal enactments — Remonstrances of the colonists — Scheme for a stamp act — Opposition in the House of Commons — Speech of Colonel Barre — The stamp act passed — Franklin's remark upon the stamp act — Consternation in America — General disaffection of the colonies — Resolutions in the legislature of Virginia— Speech of Patrick Henry — Combination among the colonies — Excitement on the subject of the stamp act — Disturbances at Boston — Affairs in Connecticut and the southern colonies — Stamped paper burnt at New York — General opposition to the stamp act — Discontent in England — Speech of Lord Chatham in parliament — Repeal of the stamp act — Farther designs of the British government — The tea tax — Proceedings in Massachusetts — Convention at Boston — British troops sent to Boston — Non-importation league — Boston Massacre — -Discovery of the Hutchinson letters — Great excitement at Boston — Arrival of the tea ships — Ferment at Boston — Destruction of the tea, . . .25

Chapter III

American Revolution. — Indignation of the British government at the destruction of the tea — Boston port-bill — General Gage governor of Massachusetts — The Quebec bill — General congress at Philadelphia — Further encroachments of the British in Massachusetts — Gage fortifies Boston Neck — General court at Concord — Outrage in Boston — Occurrences in Rhode Island and New Hampshire — Efforts of Lord Chatham and Dr. Franklin in behalf of the colonies — Gage's expedition to Salem — Exasperation of the people of Massachusetts — Battle of Lexington— CONTENTS. Provincial congress in Massachusetts — Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point— Movements of the British at Boston— Battle of Bunker Hill, 52

Chapter IV

AVashington appointed commander-in-chief — Siege of Boston — Perfidy of General Gage — Howe assumes the command — Siege of Boston — Burning of Falmouth — Confederation of the colonies — Sufferings of the inhabitants of Boston — Bombardment of the town — The Americans occupy Dorchester Heights — Evacuation of Boston by the British — Expedition of Sir Peter Parker against South Carolina — Defeat of the British at Charleston — Declaration of Independence — British expedition to New York — Battle of Long Island — Retreat of the Americans — Capture of New York — Disasters of the Americans — Conquest of the Jerseys, . . .74

Chapter V

American Revolution. — Project for the invasion of Canada by the Americans — Extraordinary march of Arnold through the woods of Maine — Expedition of Montgomery against Canada — Capture of Montreal — Siege and attack of Quebec — Death of Montgomery — Perseverance of Arnold — Evacuation of Canada by the Americans— Desperate condition of the American camp — Fortitude and resolution of Washington — Capture of the Hessians at Trenton — Affair of Princeton — Successful movements of AArashington — The British expelled from the Jerseys, . 92

Chapter VI

American Revolution. — Labors of congress — Continental currency — Ravages committed by the British — Tryon's expedition to Connecticut — Adventures of Putnam — Campaign in the Jerseys — Expedition of the British against Philadelphia — Battle of Brandywine — Capture of Philadelphia — Battle of Germantown- — The army at Valley Forge — Anecdote of Lydia Darrah — Campaign in the north — Burgoyne's expedition — Capture of Ticonderoga — Siege of Fort StanwLx — Defeat of Herkimer — Stratagem, of the Americans — Murder of Miss M'Crea — Burgoyne's advance — Battle of Bennington — Gates commander of the northern army — Battle of Stillwater — Retreat of Burgoyne to Saratoga — Surrender of Burgoyne, ; . 110

Chapter VII

American Revolution. — Effects of the capture of Burgoyne in Europe — Astonishment and mortification of the British — Opposition in parliament — Obstinacy of the ministry — Treaty of alliance with France — War between France and England — Evacuation of Philadelphia by the British — Battle of Monmouth — Arrival of a French fleet in America — Campaign in Rhode Island — Ravages of the British — Anecdotes of the war — Thomas Paine — Intrigues of the British— Massacre at Wyoming — Surprise and massacre of Colonel Baylor's regiment — Savage warfare in Pennsylvania CONTENTS. IX — Campaign in Georgia. — Capture of Savannah by the British — Invasion of South Carolina — Peril of Charleston — Georgia overrun by the British — They retreat from Charleston — Devastations of the British in Virginia, ... 134

Chapter VIII

American Revolution. — Tryon's marauding expedition to Connecticut — New Haven plundered — Barbarities of the British — Capture of Stony Point — Sullivan's expedition against the Indians — Exploits of Paul Jones — Failure of the expedition to the Penobscot — War in the south — Arrival of D'Estaing's fleet — Siege of Savannah — Repulse of the French and Americans — Death of Pulaski — Gallant exploit of Colonel "White — The British evacuate Rhode Island — Clinton invades South Carolina — Siege of Charleston — Surrender of the town — Defeat of Colonel Buford at the "Waxhaws — General Gates appointed to the command in the south — Partisan war of Marion and Sumter — Knyphausen's excursion to New Jersey— Arrival of a French fleet and army, under DeTiemay and Rochambeau — Lord Cornwallis in South Carolina — Battle of Camden — ■ Disasters of the Americans — Cornwallis threatens North Carolina — Colonel Furguson's expedition to the north — Defeat of the British at King's Mountain — Atrocities of the war — Imprisonment and escape of General Wadsworth, 157

Chapter IX

American Revolution. — Treason of Arnold — Capture and execution of Andre — Adventures of Sergeant-Major Champe — Arnold's invasion of Virginia — His marauding expedition to Connecticut — Capture of New London— Catastrophe of Fort Griswold — Revolt of the Pennsylvania line — Foreign relations of the United States — Affairs in Florida and Louisiana — Capture of Mr. Laurens — Mission of John Adams to Holland, 177

Chapter X

American Revolution. — Campaign in the south — General Greene appointed to the command of the southern army — March of Cornwallis to North Carolina — Battle of Cowpens — Defeat of Pill's tory regiment — Greene's retreat to Virginia — Battle of Guilford — March of Cornwallis to Virginia — Clinton sends troops to the Chesapeake — Battle between Green and Rawdon — Devastations of the British in Virginia — Manœuvres of Steuben and La Fayette — bold stratagem of General AVayne — Greene's movements in South Carolina — Battle of Eutaw Springs — AVar in Virginia — Cornwallis fortifies himself in Yorktown — Washington's dexterous manœuvres — Arrival of De Grasse's French fleet — Battle between De Grasse and Admiral Graves — Siege of Yorktown — Surrender of Cornwallis — Campaign of Greene and AVayne in the south — Expulsion of the British from the Carolinas and Georgia, 196

Chapter XI

American Revolution. — Obstinacy of George III. — Effects of the surrender of Cornwallis — Opposition in parliament — Change of ministry — Sir Guy X CONTENTS. Carleton appointed to the command in America — Negotiations at Paris — . Peace between the United Slates and Great Britain — General pacification in America and Europe— Treatment of American prisoners by the British — The Jersey prison-ship — Depreciation of the continental currency — Discontents of the army — Mutiny of the Pennsylvania line — Outrage committed upon congress — Decisive measures of Washington — The army disbanded — Washington resigns his commission 216

Chapter XII

The Confederation. — Washington retires to private life — State of the country — Defects of the old confederation — Embarrassments after the termination of the war — Foundation of the Order of Cincinnati — Trouble in the Eastern States — Insurrection of Shays — The militia of Massachusetts raised — Affair of Springfield — Defeat of the insurgents— Tranquillity restored — Plan for a new federal government — Convention of Philadelphia — Formation of the Federal Constitution — Washington elected president — His tour through the country — Hamilton's financial system — United States Bank established — Vermont admitted into the Union — First census — Indian war — Defeat of St. Clair — Wayne's campaign — Defeat of the Indians — Treaty of Grenville — The Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania — Commencement of the French Revolution — Arrival of Genet in the United States — His extraordinary behavior and recall — Jay's treaty — Adams elected president — Hostility of the French Directory — Capture of the Insurgente — Peace with France — Death of Washington, 226

Chapter XIII

Jefferson's Administration. — Purchase of Louisiana — Commercial affairs — AVar with Tripoli — Destruction of the frigate Philadelphia — March of General Eaton from Egypt — Capture of Derne — Peace with Tripoli — Affairs with Spain — Burr's conspiracy — Reelection of Jefferson — Troubles with Great Britain — Attack on the Chesapeake — Singular effects of this outrage — Depredations upon American commerce — Paper blockades — ■ Napoleon's Berlin decree — The British orders in councd — Mr. Jefferson's gun-boat system — The embargo — Non-intercourse with England — Madison elected president — Erskine's mission — Affair of the President and Little Belt — Revocation of the Berlin and Milan decrees and the British orders in council, . ........ 242

Chapter XIV

Settlement of the Western States. — Expedition of Daniel Boone to Kentucky — Henderson's expedition — Indian wars — Battle of Blue Licks — Emigration to the west — Settlement of Tennessee — Settlement of Ohio — Purchase of Indian lands — Expedition of Lewis and Clarke — Intrigues of the British among the Indians— Hostility of Blue Jacket and Tecumseh — Impostures and intrigues of the prophet — Treaty of the Wabash— Negotiations with Tecumseh — Confederacy of the Indian tribes against the United States— Indian murders and robberies— General Harrison marches CONTENTS. XI against the Indians — Battle of Tippecanoe — Defeat and dispersion of the enemy — Flight of the prophet, 258

Chapter XV

War of 1812. — Relations with Great Britain — Bad faith of the British cabinet — Impressment of American seamen — Affair of John Henry — Party dissensions — Declaration of war with Great Britain — Mob at Baltimore — Cruise of Commodore Rogers — Chase of the Constitution — Capture of the Guerriere — Capture of the Alert — Capture of the Macedonian — Capture of the Frolic— Capture of the Java — Exultation of the Americans — Military operations by land — Errors of the cabinet — Campaign of General Hull — Invasion of Canada — Capture of Mackinaw by the British — Surrender of Hull's army — Harrison's march — Capture of Fort Defiance — War on the Niagara frontier — -Dearborn's armistice — Attack on Queenstown — Misconduct of the New York militia — Affairs on the lakes — End of the campaign of 1812 — Meeting of congress — Negotiations for peace — Reelection of Mr. Madison, 281

Chapter XVI

War of 1812. — Harrison's winter campaign — Massacre at the River Raisin — Affairs on Lake Ontario — Capture of York — Death of General Pike — Capture of Fort George — Disaster at Stony Creek and Beaver Dam — Attack on Sackett's Harbor — War on the Atlantic coast — Devastations of the British in the Chesapeake — Bombardment of Lewistown — Cockburn's marauding expedition — Capture of the Peacock— Loss of the frigate Chesapeake — Loss of the Argus — Capture of the Boxer — Loss of the Essex — War in the west — Defence of Sandusky by Major Croghan — Perry's victory on lake Erie — Harrison's invasion of Canada — Battle of the Thames and death of Tecumseh, ...... 300

Chapter XVII

War of 1812. — Operations on the northern frontier — AVilkinson appointed to the command — Expedition against Montreal — Affair of Chrystler's Field — March of Hampton — Failure of the campaign — Naval affairs on lake Ontario — Burning of Newark — Capture of Fort Niagara — Burning of Buffalo — Indian war in the south — Massacre at Fort Mimms — Hostile movements of the Creeks — Jackson's campaign — Battle of Talladega — Defeat of the Indians — Battle at the Horse-Shoe Bend — Pacification of the south, 327

Chapter XVIII

War of 1812. — Operations on the northern frontier — Affair of La Cole Mill — Operations on lake Champlain — Naval affairs on lake Ontario — Capture of a British force at Sandy Creek — Operations on the Niagara frontier — Gallant exploit of Captain Holmes — AVar on the Atlantic coast — Attack of Saybrook — Gun-boat battle in Long Island Sound — Capture of Eastport — Bombardment of Stonington — Invasion of Maine — Cruise of the Constitution — Capture of the Epervier, Reindeer and Avon — Loss CONTENTS. of the President — Capture of the Cyane and Levant — Cruise of the Hornet — Capture of the Penguin — Gallant exploit of the privateer Arm strong, 346

Chapter XIX

War of 1812. — Negotiations for peace — Campaign on the Niagara — Battles of Chippeway and Bridgewater — Affairs in the Chesapeake — Capture of Washington — Attack on Baltimore — Affairs on the Champlain frontier — Invasion of Prevost — Battle of Plattsburg and M'Donough's victory — Invasion of Louisiana — Battle of New Orleans — Peace of Ghent, 364

Appendix

. Declaration of Independence, 381 Anecdotes of the Revolution,

Chapter I

introductory sketch. The following work Avill be found to contain a complete history of the American Republic, from that period when the North American states, inspired by a unity of principle, and aiming at a common purpose, combined their sympa thies, their aspirations, and their endeavors in a grand national effort, Avhich cemented still more strongly the original ties of kindred blood and common parentage, and led to the great federal union of the present day. The sources of American history are clear and distinct. The people of this country are not compelled to search for their origin, like most other nations, in the obscurity of barbarous ages and the regions of fiction. Their genealogy is too short and too well ascertained to admit of the embellish ments and exaggerations of a poetical fancy.

At a period comparatively recent, their ancestors, consisting of a few families, Avere detached from the great mass of the Euro pean population, and left to their oavii resources in a vast Avilderness, Avhere they Avere surrounded by enemies and forced to struggle against every disadvantage. In the short space of two centuries, Avhile some of the older states of Europe have scarcely made any perceptible advances, these few families increased to a great nation, and took their place among the most poAverful and enlightened states in the Avorld. The sources of national Avealth, and the pro ductive poAvers of man, Avhich are obscurely traced in the sIoav progress of old and populous communities, are devel oped here on a gigantic scale. It is a fortunate thing for the philosophic student, that the history of a people whose career has been so singular and instructive, is remarkably full and complete.

All the leading events and circumstan ces Avhich have influenced the fortunes or character of the people of this country, from the first settlement of a few forlorn emigrants, down to the present day, are Avithin the reach of investigation; and the steps of that unexampled progress, by which a handful of men have expanded to a mighty nation, can be accurately and satisfactorily traced. North America was discovered by John Cabot, in 1498. He then held a commission from Henry the seventh, of England, to make discoveries and take possession of neAv territories in the name and in behalf of the king of England. Acting upon the principles then current in Europe, that all countries inhabited by heathens became the property of any Christian poAver that first discovered them, the British sovereign maintained his claim to the northern part of the new Avorld.

Though Queen Elizabeth and James I. denied the authority of the pope to give aAvay the country of the infidels, yet they so far adopted the fanciful distinction betAveen the rights of heathens and the rights of Christians, as to make it the foundation of the respective grants by which they con- Areyed the several portions of the territory of North America to their OAvn subjects. They freely gave aAvay Avhat did not belong to them, Avith no other proviso than that " the territories and districts so granted, be not previously occu pied and possessed by the subjects of any other Christian prince or state." The first English patent Avhich Avas given for the purpose of colonizing the country discovered by Cabot, Avas granted, by Elizabeth, to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1578. In 1584, she licensed Sir Walter Raleigh to "search for heathen lands not inhabited by Christian peo ple," and granted to him all the soil " Avithin tAvo hundred leagues of the places Avhere his people should make their dwellings and abidings."

Under his auspices a small col ony took possession of a part of the American coast, which now forms North Carolina ; but no permanent settlement Avas effected till the reign of James the first. Virginia is the most ancient of the British American colonies ; but the NeAv England settlements were those Avhich exercised the most poAverful influence in the Avestern world. It was a most favorable circumstance for the United States that the country was colonized chiefly by men of the Saxon race. What Avould have been its situation had it been peopled by any of the southern nations of Europe, is well apparent from the present state of the Spanish American communities. The English, who formed the leading part of the colonists, had been, to a great degree, emancipated from superstition and priestcraft by the Reformation.

They had imbibed more liberal ideas in politics than any other nation of the Avorld, and had made greater progress in industry and the useful arts. The first settlers, no doubt, considered their removal to the Avestern continent as a painful sacrifice, but, after they had acquired strength to maintain themselves against the Indians, the advantages of their situation began to appear. An immense territory was spread out before a small number of men, Avho possessed the skill and industry of a mature society. The colonists left Europe when the effects of industry, the true source of national strength, had begun to develop themselves ; Avhen civil liberty began to be understood and valued ; Avhen religion Avas stripped of many of its corruptions ; Avhen knowledge Avas advancing, and society Avas settling on its proper basis.

What was the extent of the obligations by Avhich the colonies Avere bound to the mother country, is a subject of nice discussion ; Avhether they arose from nature and the British constitution, or from compact, is a question neces sarily connected Avith many others. While some contended that the king of England had a property in the soil of America, by virtue of a right derived from prior discovery, and that his subjects, by migrating from one part of his dominions to another, did not lessen their obligation to obey the supreme poAver of the nation, it was inferred that the emigrants to the English colonies continued to owe the same obedience to the king and parliament as if they had never quitted the land of their nativity. But if, as others maintained, the Indians Avere the only laAvful proprietors of the country in Avhich their Creator had placed them, and they sold their claims to men Avho, as emigrants, had a right to leave their native country, and, as subjects, had obtained chartered permission to do so, it would folloAV, from these premises, that the obligations of the colonists to the parent state must have resulted more from compact and the prospect of reciprocal advantage, than from natural obligation.

This opinion Avas held by the people of New England, who Avere the first among the colonists to per ceive the encroachments of the royal poAver, and the fore most in resisting it. Although Virginia claimed the appellation of the "Old Dominion," in consequence of having received the first English colony in America, yet the settlers there were so deficient in enterprise, ingenuity, hardihood and perseverance, that their establishments remained for a long time in a state of insignificance, and they scarcely deserved the appel lation of a regular colony till many years after the settle ment in NeAv England. The true history of the United States began here. New England is the quarter from Avhich has proceeded the greatness of the Avestern republic. Ply mouth rock is the foundation of American freedom.

Reli gious persecution compelled the English puritans to seek an asylum in the western Avorld. They landed on the shores of Massachusetts in December, 1620. The country was an inhospitable Avilderness, and the severities of a North American Avinter made this Avilderness more dreary and appalling. They Avere at first received by the savage inhabitants Avith a degree of simple humanity. They smoked Avith them the pipe of peace, purchased a tract of the uncultivated Avaste, erected huts on the frozen shore, and established a community on the broadest principles of political liberty. They entered into a voluntary compact Avith each other, to form a regular society, and dreAv up a covenant by Avhich they bound themselves to submit to order and subordination. Their jurisprudence was marked with Avisdom and dignity, and their simplicity and piety were displayed in the regulation of their police, the nature of their contracts, and the punctuality with Avhich they observed them.

They chose their oavii magistrates, independent of any foreign control. A perfect democracy was founded on the shores of Massachusetts Bay; and this obscure transaction, on Avhich the Avorld did not bestow even a passing notice at the time, noAv stands chronicled in history as the most important event of the seventeenth century. From the local situation of the Massachusetts settlers, Avho Avere separated by a broad ocean from their kindred of the parent state, and surrounded by a Avorld of savages, a compact with the king of England was thought necessary. A charter Avas easily obtained, Avhich stipulated, on the part of the crown, that Massachusetts should have a legislative body Avithin itself, subject to no control, except the king's negative Avithin certain limits, to any laws Avhich might be thought prejudicial to the realm of England.

Modes of government, nearly similar to that of Massachu setts, Avere established in most of the other colonies. But the corrupt principles which prevailed in the courts of the Stuart dynasty, quickly followed the emigrants into their distant retreats and disturbed them in the enjoyment of their free institutions. It soon became evident that there was a strong party in England Avho Avished to govern the colonists Avith a rigorous hand. They discovered their inclinations by repeated attempts to alter and annul the American charters on the most frivolous pretences. The colonists, and, above all, the NeAv Englanders, looked upon their charters as a voluntary compact betAveen their sovereign and themselves, by Avhich they Avere bound neither to be subject to, nor to seek protection from, any other prince, nor to make any laAvs repugnant to those of England.

They did not consider the charters as binding them to yield any obedience to a parliament hi Avhich they Avere unrepresented. The prospects of advantage Avhich the emigrants to America expected from the protection of their native sovereign, and the prospect of aggrandizement which the sovereign expected from the extension of his empire, made the one as willing to grant, as the other to receive, the charters ; but neither party reasoned clearly on their nature, nor understood their extent and significance, nor distinctly foresaw their tendencies. For a Avhile the 2* charters opposed a barrier to all open and gross encroachments of the mother country on the rights of the colonists. Long before the declaration of independence, several of the colonies, on different occasions, had declared that they ought not to be taxed, but by their own provincial assem blies, and that they considered subjection to acts of a British parliament, in Avhich they had no representation, as a grievance.

It is particularly Avorthy of remark, as illustrating the question of the original political rights of the Americans, that, of the Avhole thirteen colonies which took up arms against the encroachments of the crown, not one Avas settled at the expense of the government, excepting Georgia, the most recently established and least important of the num ber. ToAvards the settlement of that southern frontier, considerable sums had at different times been granted by parliament, but the tAvelve other provinces had been Avholly settled by private adA^enturers, Avithout any advances from the national treasury. It does not appear, from existing records, that any compensation for their lands was ever made to the aborigines of America, by the croAvn or parlia ment of England; but policy as Avell as justice led the colonists to purchase and pay for Avhat they occupied.

Another point, important to be kept in mind, is that the first American settlers left England at a period when the dread of arbitrary poAver Avas the predominant feeling of the nation. Except in the case of Georgia, all the colonies obtained their charters betAveen the years 1603 and 1688. During this period a remarkable struggle betAveen prerogative and privilege commenced, and Avas carried on till it terminated in a revolution in England, Avhich Avas highly favorable to popular liberty. The religion of the colonists also nurtured a love for liberty. They were chiefly pro testants, and all protestantism is founded on a strong claim to natural freedom, and the right of private judgment. A majority of them Avere of that class of men, called, in Eng land, dissenters ; their tenets, embracing the most rigid portion of the protestant religion, are hostile to all inter ference of authority in matters of opinion, and predispose INTRODfCTORY SKETCH. 19 those who cherish them to an inclination for civil lib erty.