Seventeen hundred and seventy-six; or, The war of independence; a history of the Anglo-Americans, from the period of the union of the colonies against the French, to the inauguration of Washington

Front matter

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Book.

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Chapter I. General Affairs Of The Colonies To The Peace In 1763

The Colonies originally unconnected. First united, by national antipathy to France. Collisions in Canada and Acadia, or Nova Scotia. French settlements in the Western Territory. Washington's mission thither. Military expedition under Washington. Events of the campaign. Convention at Albany, and plan for a Union of the Colonies. Braddock's expedition and defeat. Sir William Johnson's exploits. Death of Dieskau. Success of the French under Montcalm. Accession of Pitt to the Premiership of England. His vigorous measures. Reduction of Louisburg. Death of General Howe. Success of General Abercrombie. Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Capture and surrender of Quebec. Death of Wolfe and Montcalm.- Evacuation of the Western Territory by the French. Cession of Canada to the British by the Treaty of 1763 25 to 50

Chapter II

Causes which led to the Revolution. Oppressive acts early passed by Parliament. Opposition of the people of Boston. Seizure of vessels by order of government. The Sugar Act. Accession of Grenville to the Premiership of England. Passage of the Stamp Act. Indignation of the Colonies. Dr. Franklin, Agent for the Colonies, in London. Parade of the Stamp Act in New York. Agitation in Virginia. Patrick Henry and his bold resofutions. First Colonial Congress. Declaration of Rights. Destruction of stamped paper. Sons of Liberty. Non-importation Associations. Repeal of- the Stamp Act. Imposition of duties on tea, &c. Great excitement among the Colonies. Massachusetts' circular. Tumult in Boston. Investment of Boston by a military force. Dissolution of Colonial Assemblies . . . 51 to 87

Chapter III

Affray in Boston. The City Guard insulted. Massacre of citizens by British soldiers. Trial of Captain Preston and his men. Their defence by John Adams and Josiah Quincy. Their acquittal. Repeal of all duties except on

Table Of Contents

tea. Continued dissatisfaction of the Americans. Non-importation agreements continued. Death of Grenville. Interception of the letters of Governor Hutchinson and Lieutenant-Governor Oliver. Their transmission to America by Franklin. Excitement produced thereby. Franklin dismissed from the Post-office department of the Colonies. Opposition to royal regulations touching the finances of the Colonies. Recall of Governor Hutchinson. Artful policy of the British Ministry. Enactment favorable to the East India Company. Apathy of Parliament and the friends of America therein. Effect on the Colonies, of the intelligence of the passage of the Tea Act. Arrival of vessels under its operation, laden with tea. Ports closed against them. Their return to England. Agreement of consignees not to receive the tea. Refusal of the Boston consignees to this agreement. Their appeal to the Governor for protection. Collection of a mob. The consignees and custom-house officers compelled to flee to Castle William. General meeting of the inhabitants. Perpetual guard appointed to prevent tea from being landed. Great assemblage at Faneuil Hall. Destruction g of tea in Boston harbor. . 89 to 112

Chapter IV

Proposition in Parliament to close the port of Boston. Debates thereon. Petition of American citizens presented by the Lord-Mayor of London. Passage of the bill. Arrival of General Gage. Closing of the port and removal of the custom-house, and appendages, to Salem. The people there refuse to accept the advantages of the measure. Patriotic kindness of the inhabitants of Marblehead to Boston merchants. Subversion of the Charter of Massachusetts. Act for sending persons capitally indicted, to another Colony, or to Britain, for trial. Distress in Boston. Fast-day in Virginia proclaimed. First Colonial Congress. Their commendation of Massachusetts. Addresses to the King and Ministry, and to the People of Canada. Fortification of Boston Neck. Passage of a bill for restraining the commerce of the New England Colonies. Ten thousand troops and several ships of the line ordered to America 113 to 141

Chapter V

Attempt of General Gage to destroy the military stores at Concord. The plan discovered, and measures taken to prevent it. Assemblage of militia at Lexington. Spread of the news throughout the Colonies. A general rush to arms. Twenty thousand Provincials environ the British at Boston. Declaration of Independence in North Carolina. The Mecklenburg Resolutions. Seizure of Ticonderoga and Crown Point by the Americans. British reinforced by Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne. Second Continental Congress. Conditional offer of pardon. Battle of Bunker Hill. Defeat of the Americans, and death of General Warren. Proceedings in Congress. General Washington appointed Commander-in-chief of all the forces. Organization of the army at Cambridge. Flight of the Colonial royal Governors. Burning of Norfolk. Siege of Quebec, and death of General Montgomery. Defeat of the Americans. Movements of General Arnold 142 to 1S3

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Chapter VI

Siege of Boston from Dorchester Heights. British troops evacuate Boston, and with fifteen hundred families of loyalists, sail for Halifax. Entree of the American army. Defence of Boston, and march towards New York. Sir Henry Clinton joined at Cape Fear River by the squadron of Sir Peter Parker. The fleet with Cornwallis's troops, sail for Charleston. Charleston fortified. The siege unsuccessful. General rendezvous of the British forces at New York. Formidable preparations of England. Employment of seventeen thousand Hessian troops. Debates in Parliament. Fifty-five thousand troops ordered to America. Call of Congress upon the Colonies to sever their allegiance to Great Britain. Virginia Resolutions. Declaration of Independence. Battle of Long Island. Battle of White Plains. Surrender of Fort Washington to the British. Great diminution of the American forces. Retreat across New Jersey. Succession of defeats. Passage of the Delaware and Battle of Trenton. Re-animation of the American troops 184 to 21 7

Chapter VII

Successful stratagem of Washington. Battle of Princeton, and death of General Mercer. Rapid march of the Americans to Morristown. They overrun the whole of the northern part of New Jersey. The people of New Jersey coalesce with the American army. Inoculation of the whole army with the small- pox. Return of Congress to Philadelphia. Success of Silas Deane's mission to France. Franklin sent to Paris. His success in exciting the favor of the French. Expedition of La Fayette. His arrival in America. Destruction of American military stores at Peekskill and Danbury. Retreat of the British from New Jersey. Capture of Major-General Prescott. Admiral Howe sails for Philadelphia. Battle of Brandywine. Adjournment of Congress to Lancaster. The British army take possession of Philadelphia. Battle of Germantown. Capture of the forts on the Delaware by the British. Reverses of the northern division of the American army. Kosciusko. Eattle of Bennington. Battle of Saratoga. Capture and surrender of Burgoyne. A plot to place General Gates at the head of the army, defeated. Adoption by Congress of Articles of Confederation 219 to 250

Chapter VIII. Events Of 177s

Views of Ministers and Parliament. Effect of the news of Burgoyne's defeat. Passage of Conciliatory Bills. Commissioners sent to America. Attempts at bribery. Indignation of Congress. Acknowledgment of American Independence by the Court of France. Treaty of Alliance. Arrival of a French fleet. British evacuate Philadelphia. Battle of Monmouth. Reprimand and suspension of General Lee. Attempted engagement of the English and French fleets. Destruction of shipping and stores on the New England coast. Attack on Wyoming by Butler with tories and Indians. Horrible massacre and destruction of the settlement. Retaliatory expedition. Attack on Cherry Valley. Expedition of the British against Georgia. Capture of Savannah. . 251 to 277 xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter IX

Plan of the campaign. Contention of the two fleets in the West Indies. Expedition against Port Royal, and defeat of the British. Outrages of the tories in Georgia. Their defeat and dispersion. Expedition under General Ash. Defeat of the Americans, and entire subjugation of Georgia. Battle of Stono Ferry. British ravages upon the coasts of the Northern States. Success of the British in Virginia and New York. Surrender of Stony Point and Verplanck's Point. Plunder of New Haven Tryon's infamous boast. Recapture of Stony Point. Capture of British at Paulus's Hook. Cruelties of the Six Nations. Battle of the Chemung. Siege of Savannah. Death of Count Pulaski. Declaration of war against Great Britain by Spain. Bloody battle on the coast of Scotland between French and English vessels. Exploits of Paul Jones. Depressed feelings of the Americans at the close of the year. Depreciation of Continental money. Great preparations by Britain for the next campaign 278 to 302

Chapter X

Suspension of operations at the North. Sir Henry Clinton's expedition against Charleston. His disastrous voyage. Capture of Fort Moultrie and surrender of Charleston. British expeditions into the interior. Subjugation of South Carolina. Border skirmishes. March of General Gates to the relief of the Southern Provinces. Union of the forces of Lords Rawdon and Cornwallis. Battle of Sanders's Creek, and defeat of the Americans. Greene supersedes Yates. Surprise and dispersion of Sumter's troops. Severe measures of Cornwallis. Indignation of the people. Atrocities of American renegades. Battle of King's Mountain. Battle of Blackstock. Exploits of General Marion. Operations in New Jersey. Arrival of Admiral de Ternay, with Count de Rochambeau. Treason of Arnold. Capture of Major Andre. His trial, conviction, and execution. Declaration of war against Holland by Great Britain. Capture of Henry Laurens. Large Parliamentary votes ot supplies for the ensuing campaign 302 to 326

Chapter XI

Comparison of the condition of the two armies. Threatened rebellion of the Pennsylvania troops. The mutineers march to Princeton. Attempt of Clinton's emissaries to bribe them. Their indignation and seizure of these agents. Their necessities relieved by Congress. Mutiny of the New Jersey troops. Its speedy suppression. Taxation and loans. Liberality of Robert Morris. Establishment of the Bank of North America. British descent upon Virginia, and destruction of Richmond. Attempt to capture Arnold. Arnold and Phillips overrun the country. Battle of the Cowpens. Retreat of the Americans. Providential interposition. Battle of Guilford Court-house. Battle of Hobkirk's Hill. Siege of Ninety-Six. British officer dining with Marion. Execution of Colonel Hayne. Battle of Eutaw Springs. Virginia overrun by Cornwallis. Junction of the allied armies. Plundering

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expedition of Arnold in Connecticut. Murder of Colonel Ledyard, and the garrison of Fort Trumbull. Siege of Yorktown, and surrender of Cornwallis. Public thanksgivings of the army and Congress 327 to 349

Chapter XII

Vigilant efforts adopted by Washington. Closing military movements at the South. Case of Captain Huddy. Proceedings in Parliament. Arrival of Sir Guy Carleton. Preliminary negotiations for Peace. Death of Rockingham, and accession of Shelburne. Cessation of hostilities in America, and evacuation of cities. Alarming state of the country. A Monarchy proposed to Washington. The " Newburgh Addresses." Disbanding of the army. Washington's Farewell Address. His resignation, and retirement to Mount Vernon 350 to 360

Chapter XIII

The powers of Congress. Fears of an open insurrection. Shay's insurrection. Convention at Annapolis to amend the Articles of Confederation. Doings of the Convention. Adoption of the Constitution by the Convention, and its ratification by the States. Organization of the government. Washington elected President of the United States. His inauguration. . . . 361 to 363

Appendix

Stamp Act, 369 to 376

Declaration of Rights 376 to 37S

Petition to the King. ... 378 to 3S0

Memorials to Parliament 380 to 384

Propositions for a General Congress 384 to 3S5

Members of the First Continental Congress 385 to 3S6

Addresses to the People of Great Britan 386 to 392

" " " Anglo-American Colonies 392 to 401

• " " Quebec, 401 to 40S

Petition to the King 408 to 412

Address to the Inhabitants of Canada 412 to 41 1

A declaration of Congress, setting forth the causes of the war , . . 414 to 419

Second Petition to the King 419 to 422

Address to the Assembly of Jamaica 422 to 424

" " People of Ireland 424 to 429

Declaration of Independence 429 to 435

Articles of Confederation 435 to 443

A Fragment of Polybius 443 to 446

Definitive Treaty of Peace 446 to 450

Newburgh Address, and Washington's Speech 450 to 456

Washington's Circular Letter to the Governors of the States. . . . 456 to 463

" Farewell Address to the Army 463 to 466

Dr. Franklin's Motion for Prayers in the Convention 466 to 468

Proceedings in relation to the Constitution of the United States. . . 463 to 474

Constitution of the United States 474 to 489

Analytical Index 491 et seq.

HE War of the American Revolution was emphatically a war of Principle ; a conflict of Opinion and for Power, between Despotism and Freedom ; a struggle of the patrician few with the plebeian many for the mastery.

Under the banner of the former, were marshalled the bold assumption of the divine right of kings — of sovereignty vested in one man, Dei Gratia ; the feudal pretensions and asserted prerogatives of titled aristocracy, and the blind and almost unconquerable bigotry of the governed, voluntarily chained by their prejudices to the car of monarchy, and led captive with ease.

Under the banner of the latter, were marshalled the sublime jurisprudential theories of bygone reformers ; freedom of thought, opinion and action ; faith in the capacity of man for self-government ; a just appreciation of the true dignity of humanity, and the fearless assertion of the glorious principles of equality of birth, and equality in the exercise of inalienable rights, conferred impartially by our Creator. These were the moral antagonisms, whose attrition produced the flame of the American Revolution.*

The physical forces which these discordant principles drew up in battle array, were equally antipodal, viewed as subjects for patient endurance of hardships, and indomitable energy in the accomplishment of declared purposes.

The armies sent by monarchy to conquer the Colonies, were officered by men who had been reared in the halls of nobility, or the mansions of opulence ; men, who made war a profession whereby to obtain the bauble glory, — military glory — that brilliant lie that for so many ages has led mankind astray — and not as an instrumentality for developing or maintaining principles that form the basis of human happiness. The troops which they led were mostly veteran warriors. They came from the continental battle fields ; they came from the easy conquests of the Indian Peninsula ; and the discipline of the camp was to them an easy restraint. Officers and men, all came fully panoplied for the conflict. Their " military chest" commanded the ready service of the exchequer of a wealthy and powerful people. Their superior numbers and discipline, coupled with a feeling of utter contempt for the " rebels" they came to subdue and humble, gave them such confidence of certain and speedy success, that the thoughts of hardships to be endured, difficulties to encounter, a disastrous overthrow, never interposed between their vision and the glittering prize of glory to be won ; and hence no misgivings weakened their courage ; no doubts made them falter. The dynasties of the Old World wished them success ; they were confident and firm.

The colonial army was composed of men unused to the arts of war. Its ranks were filled by farmers and artizans ; men, who had seldom heard the bray of the trumpet, or the roll of the drum, awakened into action by the behests of war. Their officers were .men of comparatively small military renown. They were nurtured amid the quiet scenes of a peaceful people ; and they were called to the command of battalions, not specially because of their excellence as military tacticians, but because of their possession of a combination of excellences as patriots ; as men of prudence and sound judgment ; men to be relied on. Officers and soldiers well knew the hardships to be endured, and the obstacles to be overcome. They well knew how limited were the resources of the country ; how few the men, how scanty the supplies to be obtained. They well knew the power and the resources of the enemy from abroad, and they had carefully numbered the inimical phalanx of royalists and " faint-hearts" in their midst. They went into the conflict fully prepared to suffer much ; yet, relying upon the justice of their cause, they felt as confident of final success as did their haughty foes. Such were the physical elements engaged in the War of the Revolution.

A thirst for glory ; a blind devotion to royalty, and a mercenary spirit on one side ; and aspirations for freedom, devotion to, and faith in, Republican doctrines, and the faithful guardianship of home from the unhallowed foot-prints of tyranny on the other, were the impulses that brought the heroes of Britain, and the patriots of America, upon the field of personal combat. The struggle was long and desperate, and year after year, the balance of destiny was equipoised. Victory at length gave her palm to Republicanism, and Royalty discomfited, retired from the arena. The ways of a mysterious Providence were made plain ; a mighty problem was solved ; a brighter morning than earth ever saw, save when angels proclaimed, " Peace on earth, good will to men," dawned upon humanity, and the car of progress, so long inert, started upon its wondrous course.

The poean of victory, chanted by the great chorus of American freemen, was echoed back from Europe by thousands upon thousands of hearts attuned in unison ; yet in that response were heard the trembling notes of fear and doubt. Prayer was fervent ; hope lifted high her oriflamme ; yet fear interposed its cautious counsels, and doubt whispered its dangerous suggestions in the ear of hope. Enlightened statesmen and philanthropists turned to the chronicles of the past for a parallel or a prototype on which to build a confident hope of success ; and despotism and its abettors also delved therein for examples of failure and destruction, incident to such a presumptuous begetting of a nation. Both read the same lesson .

one with despondency, the other with exultation. The democracy of the Greeks, and the republicanism of the Romans, appeared, as in truth they were, misnomers ; the shadows of unknown substances. Liberty, at first pure and chaste, became speedily arrayed in meretricious garb, and changed to libertinism ; and the tyranny of republican majorities speedily assumed the most hateful features of despotism. In a word, the ever-tangible discordance and speedy overthrow of ancient republics, and the more recently recorded destiny of Venice and Genoa, taken as criterions for judgment, furnished philanthropy with scanty hope for the success of the disenthralled Colonies ; while royalty, certain of their speedy downfall, like their predecessors, made the birth of this Republic a standing jest, and its early demise a scoffing prophecy.

But there was an element of vitality in the constitution of the new Republic, unknown to its predecessors, and all important for its perpetuity. It was the element of personal equality, in the possession and enjoyment of social and political rights. No privileged class was recognized, no demarkation lines of caste defaced the charter of our prerogatives. The fountain of knowledge was freely unsealed to all ; the road to wealth and honor was freely opened to all. The prize of distinction was the incentive to learn and to educate ; and general intelligence was (and is now) the main pillar of the State, growing with the growth, and strengthening with the strength, of the Republic. This was wanting in all past republics, and hence their speedy decadence and annihilation.

The war of the American Revolution taught monarchs and statesmen a great moral lesson, universal in its application, and valuable beyond estimate. It taught them to respect the inalienable rights of the governed, and to regard political freedom as the firmest pillar of the throne. It taught them to abandon the dangerous policy of coercing men into submission to the ministrations of palpable error, and of quieting the rebellion of intellect and sentiment by physical power. It taught them to regard as futile and impious, any attempt to stay the progress of truth, for its power is almighty ; it is the throne of the Eternal. It opened their understanding to the fact, that the legitimate source of power is the people ; and that vox populi vox Dei, cannot be denied when that voice utters the wise lessons of truth. It taught them to respect opinion ; to eschew intolerance ; to receive with caution, and view with scrutiny, the pharisaical teachings of creeds, whether religious or political ; and to regard the race as a unity ; children of one father ; co-heirs in, the inheritance of those prerogatives which God alone can bestow, and which God alone can withhold. These were hard and almost incomprehensible lessons for bigots to learn. Their minds, long clouded with the gross error of king-craft and priest-craft, were almost impervious to the light of political and religious truth, which the war of the Revolution unveiled ; and it was long after the judgment was convinced, and the intellect acknowledged the truth of the lesson, ere the heart, at whose portal stood human pride mailed in the panoply of hoary precedent, would yield its assent, and allow the spirit of human progress to enter and assume control.

Yet the lessons taught, were learned ; and the rich fruit of that glorious seed-time is now everywhere visible in the Old World. Republican institutions grow side by side with monarchy, and their branches intertwine ; and despotism proper has scarcely a foothold in Europe. There is not a code of laws, by which its empires are governed, that does not bear, in some clause, the signet of the American Revolution. Its voices reverberated amid the stupendous structures of feudal folly and feudal wrong ; their deep foundations were shaken, and they crumbled into dust. A few still remain, but they are fast fading away, like stars of morning before the brightness of a more glorious orb ; and when the years of the first century of the New Era shall be told by the gnomon of Time, scarcely a vestige of these dark monuments will remain, to cast their shadow upon the dial. Our experiment in self-government has been fairly tried. It is no longer an experiment, but a grand demonstration. May we not in sober truth, and not in a boastful spirit, claim for our Republic the meed of superiority ? Is it not to jurisprudence, what the Venus de' Medici is to art, a model of classic grace, disfigured, it is true, by impurities cast upon it by the careless and unwise, but in form and feature, as perfect as human judgment can fashion it ? Will it not be a study for all time ; and will not the transatlantic republics yet to be chiselled from the rough stones of old systems, look to the beauteous child of the American Revolution, as a model par excellence ? These are questions which the honest pride of every American citizen answers in the affirmative.

But another question forces itself upon the mind and heart of the enlightened patriot — Shall this rich inheritance be long perpetuated, and how ? The answer is at hand. Educate every child — educate every emigrant, for "education is the cheap defence of nations"* Educate all, physically, intellectually and morally. Instruct, not only the head, but the heart ; enlighten the mind, and, by cultivation, enlarge and multiply the affections. Above all, let our youth be instructed in all that appertains to the vital principles of our Republic. To appreciate the blessings they enjoy, and to create in them those patriotic emotions, which shall constitute them ardent defenders in the hour of trial, it is necessary for them to be taught the price of their goodly heritage ; the fearful cost of blood and treasure, suffering and woe, at which it was obtained. They should be led by the hand of history into every patriotic council ; upon every battle field ; through every scene of trial and hardship, of hope and despondency, of triumph and defeat, where our fathers acted and endured, so that when we

" Go ring the bells and fire the guns, And fling the starry banner out— Cry Freedom ! till our little ones Send back their tiny shout ;"f

our children may not, in their ignorance, ask, " What mean ye by this service V'%

The duty of the historian of the Revolution, as one of the national teachers, is a difficult one, and if he truly feels the weight of the responsibility resting upon him, he will instinctively shrink from the task, or approach it with trembling misgivings, relying solely upon Omnipotent Wisdom, in the exercise of his judgment and the guidance of his pen. That same nation, whose rulers sent armies here to oppress their brethren, our fathers ; to awe them into submission to a " tyrant, unfit to be the ruler of a free people," and who, by every act of injustice and cruelty which malevolence could invent, sought to enslave the infant Colonies, is still a powerful and haughty sovereignty ; yet in language, laws, religion, and commerce, is closely allied to us in bonds of mutual friendship. While patriotic indignation would prompt the historian to speak harshly of Britain,

• Burke t Whittier. X Exodus xii., 2G.

its rulers and people, when recording the story of the wrongs our fathers endured ; and he might justly speak in terms of unqualified condemnation of the inflictors and abettors of those wrongs, yet it is manifestly improper and unjust to excite unfriendly feelings against that same nation now. The actors in that bloody drama have passed away, and their places in court, forum and field, are filled by men who as deeply deplore and condemn those acts of George and his ministers, as we.

Britain, though old, has been an apt scholar in learning the lesson taught by our War of Independence, and nobly are her children practising its precepts. Monarchy there is now but a dim shadow of its former self ; and, instead of using the people as an instrument of its ambition and lust, it is but an executive arm to do the bidding of the people's will. Power has changed its dwelling-place ; it has left the narrow precincts of the throne, and domiciles upon the broad domain of the intellect of the nation. Religion, too, is stooping from its lofty position upon the upper step of the throne, and with its best friends, Freedom of Opinion, and Freedom of Thought, is leaving the cathedral % for the chapel, and spreading its broad mantle of Toleration alike over assenters and dissenters. Every year produces a closer affiliation in thought, feeling and action, between us and our stately mother ; and the time is not far distant, when geographical demarkation alone shall make us distinctive nations, for we shall meet upon the same broad platform of Human Right, and labor in the same great cause of Human Progress, without a discordant feeling to disturb our harmony.

While the following pages shall present a faithful narrative of the War of American Independence ; while not a syllable of deserving condemnation of British tyranny and oppression shall be withheld ; while every record of patriotic action, calculated to make the heart of every American citizen glow with love for his country, and reverence for those who procured the blessed inheritance, shall be rehearsed, it shall be our aim to do this, and this only; and not, by the utterance of a single word, probe the healing wound of the last century, or sever one ligament of friendly feeling that now binds us to our English brethren. Let us rather strengthen that bond, for our alliance is noble and honorable. The object of our friendship is worthy thereof, for, when we cast our eyes' across the Atlantic, England, radiant with learning, art, science, religion, patriotism, every element of human progress, every ingredient of social good, every constituent of true greatness, beams like Hesperus amid the lesser orbs of the Old World. Let every American heart respond to the sentiment of her own sweet poet Cowper : —

" England, with all thy faults, I love thee still."

cession.

William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham.

Washington, from an Early Print by Trumbull.

Chapter I

PROPER point of departure in the delineation of the events of the War of American Independence, is the period when the several English colonies, planted along the Atlantic sea-board from Massachusetts to Georgia, first united for the purpose of checking the extension of French settlements and the growth of French empire upon this continent. They were prompted to this union by sentiments of true loyalty to the home government, and the counsels of selfinterest. Until this period each colony, established upon its own particular basis, without any special reference to its sister settle-

26 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [chap. r.

Union proposed by Colonial Governors. National jealousies.

ments, felt no bond of common interest with them. In fact, the discordance of sectional feeling, in matters relating to boundaries and other differences of opinion, growing out of imperfect demarkations of territory, produced sectional jealousies and rivalries that sometimes amounted to a considerable degree of animosity : yet the consciousness of a common origin and fraternity in language, and the dictates of sound judgment, so strongly developed in the Colonies, preserved them from acts of open hostility, or even the indulgence of feelings of permanent hatred.

Prior to the period now under consideration, the Colonies had no thoughts of union, for any object whatever. Nicholson and other colonial Governors had, at different times, proposed a union of several of the Colonies, but the motives which gave birth to these suggestions were so manifestly mercenary that the people spurned them with disdain. They were made by men ambitious of extending the power of the crown, advancing their own aggrandizement, and of checking, in its incipient growth, the budding spirit of independence, becoming so frequently manifest. They feared the expansion of this bud into the lovely flower and mature fruit, and at once sought to destroy its vitality or retard its growth. But these unwise counsels and recommendations to the crown always gave new life to languishing aspirations for freedom, and increased the odium in which the colonists, so frequently with just cause, held their appointed rulers.