The military heroes of the revolution with a narrative of the war of independence

Front matter

THE LIBRARY

OF

LOS ANGELES

Preface

THE following work has long been a favorite scheme of the author. When the idea of it first occurred to him, there was scarcely any book of a similar character. Some of the biographies were composed five or six years ago, and were given to the public as fugitive contributions ; others are of a later date ; but nearly all were ready for the press a twelve-month since. Just as they arrived at this point, however, the announcement of a publication somewhat resembling this, induced the abandonment of the enterprise, with the natural reflection, that in America at least, the delay recommended by Horace was not always advisable. Subsequently, how-

6 PREFACE.

ever, the writer was persuaded to prosecute his undertaking, and the result, with but little alteration, is before the reader !

It was the original intention to have given, in one volume, a complete gallery of the military heroes of the United States, those of the war of 1812, as well as those of the war of Independence. The war with Mexico, however, frustrated this design, it being found that the material would swell to two volumes. The " Heroes of the War of 1812," and the " Heroes of the War with Mexico," will together complete a second volume, which is now passing through the press.

The design of this work is to furnish brief, analytical portraits of those military leaders who, either from superior ability, or superior good fortune, have played the most prominent parts in the wars of the United States. Each biography is made the frame, as it were, for a battle picture, the combat chosen being that in which the hero of the memoir principally distinguished himself. This has always appeared to the author the only true way to give a military portrait. What would a sketch of Hannibal be, without Cannse ; or one of Bruce without Bannockburn ? The battle in which a great hero distinguishes himself, becomes a part of his biography. His fame, and sometimes even his character cannot be understood without it. The author has desired, accordingly, to write a book which should not only tell when Warren was born, where Putnam spent his youth, or who were the ancestors ot Greene and Wayne, but to enshrine as far as his feeble pen has power, the memory of those immortal heroes with Lexington, Bunker Hill, Eutaw and Stony Point.

In executing this plan, it became necessary to omit many

PREFACE. 7

whose rank wo aid seem to claim admission, and to introduce others whose subordinate positions have caused them heretofore to be overlooked. Thus the author has given sketches of Colonel Henry Lee, of Captain Kirkwood, of Ethan Allen, and of others ; but none of several Major-Generals. He hesitated for some time, whether Howard and Pickens ought not to be included with Williams and Sumpter ; whether the services of Captain Washington in the cavalry, and those of Clarke on the western frontier, did not entitle them to a place. He has admitted, perhaps, more foreigners than some may think necessary ; but it must be recollected that the army wras indebted for most of its discipline and military science to these men. He has also included Hamilton and Burr; but they have never heretofore been assigned their due prominence ; and moreover their biographies allowed the author to bring the history of the nation down to the present century, an important addition to the completeness of his work as a whole.

The author does not pretend to claim exemption from errors— no annalist can, least of all an annalist of the American revolution ! Many of the details of that period are involved in inextricable confusion. Whether Mercer suggested the march on Princeton ; whether Putnam brought on the battle of Bunker Hill ; whether Montgomery harangued his men before the second barrier of Quebec ; whether Arnold was present at Stillwater ; whether the legend of Horse-Neck is true ; wrhether the battle of the Assunpink, so unaccountably neglected by most writers, was a mere skirmish or a desperate conflict ; whether any of the British, at Brandywine, crossed the river lower than Jeffries' Ford ; whether the name of Wood Creek.

8 PREFACE.

in 1777, was extended to the arm of the lake between Skeensboro' and Ticonderoga ; whether the surprise at Trenton originated with Washington ; whether Burr intended to dismember the Union — these, and other mooted points, perplex the historical student, and will, perhaps, always, continue to perplex him. The author has contented himself merely with stating his opinions, discussion being foreign to the character of this work. As a general rule, however, he has applied to the decision of all such questions, the logical maxim of the law, that, where a fact is distinctly stated by a credible eyewitness, circumstantial testimony against it is of little value- Many anecdotes are used in this narrative which have never been in print. The one relating to Washington's address at Trenton — " Now or never, this is our last chance"' — is of this description. It came from the lips of a private soldier, who always had told it in the same way, and whose veracity was unimpeachable ; he was accustomed to say that Washington spoke under evident agitation, and that only himself, and a few others close at hand, heard the words. The dramatic character of the address may induce some to discredit it ; but when the attending circumstances are considered, this becomes a proof of its authenticity. Far be it from the author to invade history with fiction ! Nothing can be more reprehensible than the practice, which has too much prevailed, of inventing anecdotes in relation to historical characters and passing them off as realities. Forgers in literature should be as infamous as other forgers. But neither can we excuse those who studiously banish every thing picturesque from their pages, as if history grew correct in proportion as it became

PREFACE. 9

stupid. Rather should we preserve those stirring anecdotes, which illustrate a crisis, and which, to use the metaphor of Coleridge, tell a story " by flashes of lightning."

The narrative of the war is intended not so much for a perfect history, as for a short, but as far as possible, comprehensive review of the contest. It forms, it is believed, a proper introduction for a work intended, like this, for the people. The style, in consequence, is different from that which a more pretending narrative should exhibit.

Of the various authorities the author has consulted, he has found " Sparks' American Biographies," the most generally correct ; and he desires to acknowledge, in this public manner, the assistance he has derived from that series. He would express his obligations in other quarters also, if the list would not swell this preface to an unwarrantable length.

Book V, * The Heroes Of The Revolution

JOSEPH WARREN, ...

ISRAEL PUTNAM, -

- ETHAN ALLEN, ...

WILLIAM MOCLTRIE,

12 CONTENTS.

HUSH MERCER, ..... 269

ARTHUR ST. CLAIH, .... 277

PHILIP SCHUTLBR, ' <4 - - - - 285

JAMES CLINTON, . - . - - 343

JOHN SULLIVAN, - • % • l . - - 347

HENRY KNOX, .... 355

BARON STEUBEIT, - - . - - - 359

Couirr PULASKI, - .... 403

ROHERT KlRKWOOD, - 407

BAROIT DB KALB, - 409

— MARQUIS DE LAFATETTE, - 413

NATHAXAEL GREENE, - 421

OTHO H. WILLIAMS, ..... 443

HAXCIS MARION, ..... 445

THOMAS SUMPTER, ..... 453

I.'AMKL MORGAN. . . . . .461

THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO, - 465

-- ALEXANDER HAMILTOK, ..... 469

ILLUSTRATIONS.

ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL.

Portrait of Washington, ......... Frontispiece.

Battle of Germantowri, ...._-.-- Page 83

Battle of Guilford Court House, 135

Battle of Eutaw Springs, 139

Washington at the Battle of Princeton, 180

Battle of the Assunpink, at Trenton, ........ 193

Battle of Bunker Hill and Death of Warren, 217

Portrait of Major-General Arthur St.Clair, 277

Saratoga Battle Ground, - - - - - - - - - -317

Portrait of Major-General Benedict Arnold, ------- 323

Fort Putnam, at West Point, ---------- 339

Portrait of Baron Steuben, -...-.--- 359

Battle Ground at Monmouth, - - - - - - - • 379

Pulaski Monument at Savannah, Ga., .....-- 406

Portrait of the Marquis La Fayette, (at the age of twenty two years,) 413

Portrait of Major-General Otho H. Williams, 443

Portrait of Brigadier-Genera) Thomas Surnpter, ..... 455

Portrait of Brigadier-General Daniel Morgan, ... ... 461

14 ILLUSTRATIONS.

ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

Residence of General Wayne, Chester Co., Pa., ..... Page 5

Washington's Head-Quarters at Brandywine, - ...... 9

Washington's Head-Quarters at Valley Forge, - - - - - - 11

Battle Ground at Stillwater, --._.---- 13

Ornamental Title Page, " The War of Independence," - - - - - 17

Head Piece, 19

Americans Harassing the British on their Retreat from Concord, - - -25

Ornamental Letter — Cap and Sword, - - - - - - - 25

Portrait of Patrick Henry, - - - - - - - - - -29

Reception of the News of the Repeal of the Stamp Act, ... - - 3'2

Fanueil Hall, Boston, -.- - - - - 34

Destruction of the Tea in Boston Harbor, -•- - - - - - 37

Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, - - •• - - - - -40

Battle of Lexington, -----------43

The Minute Man of the Revolution, •'" ••"•»."- - - - - 45

Ornamental Letter — Table and Sword, ....... 45

Colonel Ethan Allen Summoning the Commander of Fort Ticonderoga to Surrender, 47 Siege of Boston, ......... -.53

Portrait of Admiral Sir Peter Parker, - 58

Independence Hall, _........ -.60

Committee Presenting the Declaration of Independence to Congress, - - 61

Portrait of Admiral Lord Howe, 65

Retreat of the Americans through New Jersey, ...... 68

Battle of Trenton, 70

Bunker Hill Monument, .......... 72

Head Piece — Eagle and Flag. 73

Portrait of Lord Cornwallis, .--......-76

Birmingham Meeting-House, .-..-....80

Battle of Red Bank, • . »/ . 84

Portrait of General Burgoyne, .........87

Burgoyne's Encampment on the Banks of the Hudson, - - - - - 91

Burgoyne's Retreat to Saratoga, ........95

Encampment at Valley Forge, ...... .-98

Signing the Treaty of Alliance at Paris, - - - - -«.**.• 101

Portrait of Sir Henry Clinton, ......... 105

Tail Piece — Implements of War, ........ 112

Portrait of Major-General Nathanael Greene, - 113

Tarleton's Quarters, ........... 122

Battle of the Cowpens, -- ........131

Capture of the General Monk by the Hyder Ally, ..... 141

Portrait of Commodore John Paul Jones, ^ 143

Capture of Major Andre, - - - - - - - - - - 148

Continental Money, .......... 152

Portrait of Robert Morris, ........ --154

ILLUSTRATIONS. 15

Action off Cape Henry, - ' • . - - . ; - - - - Page 1 f>6

Capture of Corn wallis, - - - - -- - - ..•_ ]O4

Tail Piece — Cannon and Flag, - - - - - - - - -170

Ornamental Title Page — " Heroes of the Revolution," ..... j7j

Ornamental Letter — Washington, .----..-_ 173

Washington's Interview with the Commander of the French Fort, - - - 176

Washington's Head-Quarters at Cambridge, - - - - - - . 181

Copy of a Gold Medal Presented to Washington by Congress, - - - 185

Washington Crossing the Delaware, ......... j^g

Washington's Head-Quarters at Morristown, - - - - - -197

Washington's Head-Quarters at Newburg, - ...... 202

Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, ---.... 206

Portrait of Major-General Joseph Warren, - .... 207

Ornamental Letter — Throwing up Intrenchments, ------ 207

Tail Piece — Cap and Sword, - - - - - - - -- 218

Portrait of Major-General Israel Putnam, - - 219

Ornamental Letter — Putnam Prepared for the Torture, - - - - 219

Ruins of Old Fort Ticonderoga, - - - - - - - - -221

Battle of Bunker Hill, ------.-._ 227

Portrait of Major-General Richard Montgomery, --._._ 235

St. Johns, on the Sorel, _.-._-____ 237

Death of Montgomery at the Storming of Quebec, - - ... 242

Ornamental Letter — Officer taking Observations, - - - - - - 243

Portrait of Major-General William Moultrie, - - - - - - -251

Portrait of Major-General Lord Stirling, --_---_. 259

Ornamental Letter — Sentinel, -..--.... 259

The Retreat of the Americans at Long Island, ...... 266

Battle of Princeton, --------__. 269

Tomb of General Mercer, at Laurel Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia, • - ' - 276

Death of General Wolfe, .......... 277

Wolfe's Army Ascending the Heights of Abraham, ..... 284

Portrait of Major-General Philip Schuyler, - 285

Ornamental Letter — Sentinel, ...... ... 285

Massacre at Fort Henry in 1757, ........ 290

Portrait of Major-General John Stark, ........ 295

Ornamental Letter — Sentinel, - - - 295

General Abercrombie's Army Crossing Lake George, - .... 299

Portrait of John Langdon, - - - - . . - . . -301

Battle of Bennington, -------_.-. 304

Portrait of Major-General Horatio Gates, --...-- 309

Ornamental Letter — Eagle and Flag, 309

Surrender of Burgoyne, - - - - - - . . - . 316

Medal Presented by Congress to General Gates, - - - - - - 318

Shippen's House, Philadelphia, in which General Arnold was Married, - - 323 Ornamental Letter, - - . . . .'». . -323

16 ILLUSTRATIONS.

Montreal — Place d'Arras, Page 32 S

Washington's Head-Quarters at Tappan, 340

General James Clinton's Escape from Fort Clinton, ------ 343

Ornamental Letter — Tomahawk, ------ - - 343

Portrait of Major-General John Sullivan, and Ornamental Letter, ... 347

Portrait of Major-General Henry Knox, and Ornamental Letter, - - - 355

Tail Piece — Artillery, 358

Head Piece — Prussian Soldiers, ___-..--. 359

Baron Steuben Drilling the American Army, - 361

Portrait of Major-General Charles Lee, .•'.*- - -'- * ' . " • 365

Portrait of Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, --._--- 385

Portrait of Major-General Anthony Wayne, ----.-- 391

Storming of Stony Point, _---------- 396

General Wayne Attempting to Quell the Mutiny of the Troops. 398

General Wayne's Defeat of the Indians on the Miami, - - 400

Head Piece— Pulaski and Polish Soldiers, ----.-- 403

Ornamental Letter, - - - - - - - • '. ,li*ivt - 403

Death of Count Pulaski, - - "' K , - - - 406

Portrait of Major-General the Baron de Kalb, - - ...„-. . 407

The Battle of Camden, and Death of the Baron de Kalb, ; W - - - 410

Head Piece, and Ornamental Letter, - ... ^ '-'••-- - - 411

Yorktown Battle-Ground, and Ornamental Letter, - - - - - - 413

Moore's House, Yorktown, in which Cornwallis Signed the Articles of Capitulation, 417

Tomb of General La Fayette, ......... 420

General Greene's Entrance into Charleston, - - - - - - - 421

Ornamental Letter — The Dead Soldier, - - - - - - - -421

The Landlady Offering her Money to General Greene, - 431

Portrait of Brigadier-General Francis Marion, .-..--- 445

Ornamental Letter — General Marion Inviting the British Officer to Dinner, - 445

Sampler's Assault on the British at Rocky Mount, ..--.- 455

Portrait of Colonel Henry Lee, --------- 457

Ornamental Letter — Lee's Legion, -------- 457

Morgan at the Battle of Stillwater, ------- 461

Portrait of Brigadier-General Thaddeus Koskiuszko, - - - ' * - 465

Monument to the Memory of Koskiuszko at West Point, - - - - 468

Portrait of General Alexander Hamilton, - - - * .*'• ~ - - 469 Ornamental Letter, .-..-- ...-469

Portrait of Colonel Aaron Burr, - - - . .<• * » - •-*'.• ;^W " -. 477

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER,

I HE American Revolution, in whatever aspect , viewed, forms an epoch in history. That a comparatively weak confederacy should undertake a war unassisted, against a power which had just humbled the proudest throne in Europe, appears at first sight little short of madness. Never, perhaps, did England enjoy a more formidable position than at the beginning of the dispute with her colonies. Her armies had been victorious in the old world and the new. Her fleets had chased those of every adversary from the ocean. She had dictated peace to her antagonist. And while these events had been transacting in Europe and America, a commercial company had been conquering for her the vast empire of the Indies. Her flag already floating over Quebec, Gibraltar and Calcutta ; her name heard with terror by distant and savage tribes ; men began to look forward to the day when the British empire, like the sea which she controlled, should circle the habitable globe.

It was at this, the very height of her career, that the American Revolution occurred. The colonies contained, at that time, but three millions of people, divided by local prejudices, by differences

80 HISTORY OF

of religious opinion, and by mutual jealousies. In one sentiment only they agreed, a determination to resist oppression. Without arms, money or credit, they embarked in a contest from which France had just retired in despair. At a very early period of the war, the Americans were so completely overpowered that any other people would have abandoned the contest in despair. The battle of Trenton alone saved the country. The genius and resolution of Washington, in that eventful crisis, interposed to arrest the torrent of disaster ; he checked the flood and rolled it back on the foe. For eight years the conflict was protracted amid financial and military difficulties almost incredible. At times the Americans were reduced to such straits that it was a greater triumph of military chieftainship, merely to keep an army together, than it would have been, under ordinary circumstances, to have achieved a decisive victory. Battle after battle was lost, city upon city fell into the hands of the foe, domestic treason conspired with foreign hirelings against the liberties of the land ; but the colonies, true to the principles of their immortal declaration, resolved to perish rather than submit. They acted in the spirit of the patriot who swore to demolish every house and burn every blade of grass before the invader. The Senate of Rome, when Hannibal was at the city gates, solemnly sold at auction the land on which he was encamped, the august members of that body competing, in their private capacities, who should pay the highest price : so indomitable was the sentiment of ancient freedom. Washington, not less determined, when asked what he would do if the enemy drove him from Pennsylvania, replied, ' " I will retire to Augusta county, among the mountains of Virginia, or if necessary beyond the Alleghanies, but never yield." When such heroic resolutions are entertained, victory, sooner or later, must ensue ; and thus America, insignificant as she seemed, was able to humble the mistress of the world.

But if we would correctly appreciate the American Revolution, we must look, not to the event itself, but to its consequences. The war of Independence was the first ever gained in behalf of the people, using that word as contradistinguished from a privileged class. Magna Charta was obtained for the benefit of a few nobles, while the majority of the population continued slaves to the soil. The boasted revolution of 1688, was but a struggle between a despot and an oligarchy : the commonalty gaining as little by the elevation of William the Third, as they lost by the exile of James the Second. It was only the nobility, the gentry, the church, and the higher classes of merchants to whom it was of advantage. The government passed from an irresponsible monarch to a landed and rnonied aristocracy : the people obtaining no share in it, and remaining still subjects arid not citizens. But the American Revolution established the great principle of political equality. It elevated the poorest member of the commonwealth to an equal participation with the richest in the choice of his rulers ; and by teaching that the State must rely on the virtue of its citizens, and not on a military force for support, invoked some of the most powerful sentiments of human nature in behalf of the permanency of the republic.

The example* thus set, has influenced the whole European continent. The knowledge of the freedom of institutions in America, awakening the lethargic mind of the old world, has led to a general amelioration in the social and political condition of its millions of inhabitants. To the American Revolution may be traced, in a great measure, the revolution in France, — an incalculable blessing to mankind, notwithstanding its excesses ; for if that terrific outbreak had not occurred, the chains of feudalism would probably remain unbroken ; long established customs would still hold the minds of men in thrall ; and Europe, instead of being in motion towards constitutional liberty, would lie inert and stupified, careless or ignorant of her inestimable rights.

The hand of Providence may be discerned in the settlement, independence, and subsequent prosperity of the United States. The race of men who came to these shores was of that northern blood which has, in all ages, asserted its superiority over every other with which it has come in contact. Perhaps there never existed its equal in the capacity for material development. The very name of Northman suggests the idea of enterprise and progress. In a new country the genius of the race had free room for expansion, without being checked by old institutions as it was every where in Europe. A bold and hardy people was the consequence, possessing high notions of personal independence, and accustomed from the very first to choose their own rulers and make their own laws. Had a less energetic stock colonized these shores, the destiny of the western world would have been far different. No other people but one formed and nurtured as the early settlers were, could have achieved the independence of this country. Fortunately the materials for the state were of the best possible kind, nor was any parent community at hand to wither the young commonwealth by its protecting shadow ; but the colonies were suffered to grow into power, and to know their own strength, before the mother country interfered to harass them ; and by that time they were able to conquer their indepen-

22 HISTORY OF

dence, and to maintain it afterwards. If instead of being three thousand miles away, the young republic had started upon European soil, it never would have been allowed to try the experiment of self-government unmolested ; but foreign powers, alarmed at the effect its example might produce, would early have interfered and crushed its development. In that case our liberties could only have been achieved by the blood and horror of a second French Revolution ; and after we had filled Europe with the glare of conflagration, we might at last have proved unworthy of freedom.

It is evident to the eye of the philosopher that the old world is worn out. There are cycles in empires, as well as in dynasties ; and Europe, after nearly two thousand years, seems to have finished another term of civilization. The most polished nation in the eastern hemisphere is now where the Roman Empire was just before it verged to a decline : the same system of government, the same extremes of wealth and poverty, the same delusive prosperity characterizing both. Europe stands on the crust of a decayed volcano which at any time may fall in. The social fabric, in the old world, is in its dotage. The whole tendency of the philosophic mind abroad, is towards change ; but whence to seek relief, or in what manner to invoke it ? It is not too visionary to believe that from the new world will come the recuperative energy which is to restore the old, and that America is hereafter to return to Europe, in an improved condition, the civilization she borrowed in her youth. The one starts where the other leaves off. The United States begins with an experience of two thousand years. At the same ratio of progress with which it has advanced during the last century, it will attain, by the close of the next, a social and political elevation, at present incredible. Its population, exceeding that of any Empire but China, will all speak the same language, possess the same laws, and boast the same blood ; and history will be searched in vain for an example of such numbers collected into so compact a territory, or possessing equal intelligence and enterprize. It is then that emissaries will go hence to re-model the old world. And the time may even come, as a celebrated English writer has remarked, when Europe will be chiefly known and remembered from her connexions with America : when travellers will visit England, as men now visit Italy, because once the seat of art ; and when antiquaries from cities beyond the Rocky Mountains, will wander among the ruins of London, almost incredulous that there had once been centred the commerce of the world.

With the Roman Empire the seeds of disunion existed in the variety of races acknowledging her sway, and in the fact that most of the provinces had originally been conquered nations and were never completely assimilated to her, or to each other. Whe'n the irruptions of the Goths occurred, this unwieldy and ill-cemented mass naturally fell to pieces. Even during the existence of the empire the government of the distant colonies was more or less imperfect, as is indeed always the case with the provinces of an extensive monarchy or despotism. The body thrives while the extremities wither. But in the republic of the United States, these difficulties are obviated by the federal compact, which bestows on the general government only such power as the states cannot conveniently use themselves, leaving to each commonwealth the right of local legislation. The nation is governed on the wise principle of representing the wishes of the people as a whole ; while each individual state is left to adjust its own affairs in the manner best suited to itself. For the purposes of a free people occupying an extended territory the federal league is the most wonderful discovery in the whole range of political science. It combines the separate independence of the municipal system of Rome, with the compactness of a consolidated monarchy such as that of France. Like the magic tent in the fairy tale, it may shelter a family, or cover a continent. It moreover carries within itself the seeds of recuperation, and may be peaceably amended to suit the altered condition of the times. It is the only form of government for an extensive republic that can be relied on as permanent. A cursory observer would suppose, that on the slightest difference of opinion among the States, they would separate into as many hostile and independent nations : but experience has shown, as philosophy prognosticated, that the federal league weathers tempests that wreck even constitutional monarchies. It is the most pliable of all the forms of human government. Like those vast Druidical stones that are still the admiration of the world, though their builders are forgotton, it is so nicely poised that while rocking under the finger of a child, it yet defies human power to hurl it to the ground.

The story of the Revolution, pregnant with such mighty consequences, and the lives and characters of the great men who began and successfully completed it against such overwhelming odds, cannot fail to be interesting, especially to the descendants of those who shed their blood in that quarrel. It is our purpose to narrate this theme : and we shall do it without further preface.

I

AMERICANS HARASSING THE BRITISH ON THEIR RETREAT FROM CONCORD.

Book I, The Origin Op The War

HE American Revolution naturally divides itself into five periods. The first dates from the passage of the Stamp Act to the battle of Lexington. This was a period of popular excitement, increasing in an accelerated ratio, until it burst forth with almost irresistable fury at Lexington and Bunker Hill. The second reaches to the battle of Trenton. During this period the popular enthusiasm died away, and recruits were difficult to be obtained for the army : consequently the American forces were made up chiefly of ill-disciplined militia, wholly incapable of opposing the splendid troops of England. As a result of this, the battle of Long Island was lost, and Washington was driven across the Delaware. In this emergency, even the most sanguine of the patriots were beginning to despair, when the commander in chief made his memorable attack at Trenton, and rescued the country from the brink of ruin. The third period brings us up to the important alliance with France. It was during this period that 4 c 25

26 HISTORY OP

a regular army, having some pretentions to discipline, was first formed ; that the battles of Brandy wine, Germantown and Monmouth were fought; and that Burgoyne surrendered. It was a period when, notwithstanding the fortunes of the country occasionally ebbed, the cause of Independence on the whole steadily advanced. The fourth period embraces the war at the south. During this period the military operations of the British at the north were comparatively neglected ; indeed England now began to regard the conquest of the whole country as impossible, and therefore resolved to concentrate all her energies on one part, in hopes to subdue it at least. The fifth and last period, which had nearly proved fatal, after all, to Independence, comprises the capture of Cornwallis; witnesses the deliverance of the nation from a financial crisis ; and finally beholds Independence acknowledged, and the enemy's troops withdrawn from our shores. To each of these periods we shall devote a book : the first we shall now portray.