The battles of the war for independence

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Preface

Of the various subjects forming portions of the history of a nation, none has been so generally acceptable to young people as the record of its wars. The school histories of the country must necessarily be brief in their descriptions of the various movements of the armies, and the various conflicts in which they have been engaged. It would exceed the limits of a work of this nature to attempt any relation of all the skirmishes in our country's history, but we have endeavored to bring together the story of the decisive events, and the resulting effects.

The little Eastern States, thickening with population, had to find an outlet in the direction of the West. Those fertile sections were greedily coveted by the new settlers, and quietly appropriated ; and the Red man was pushed along in the direction of sunset. He persisted in cherishing his natural hatred of the interlopers upon his hunting-grounds, and his villages became the encampments of resentment, discontent, and meditated vengeance.

We have made no attempt to recount the numberless battles with the Indians. After their own fashion they fought for their homes, their property, their families, and their rights. They were sometimes armed — but never had ficid-^xQCQS, — and the result of the fighting was never doubtful.

Chapter I. In And Around Boston . . .9

The "Tea Party's" Demonstration — Continental Congress — Franklin and the Colonial Agents — General Gage — Sir William Howe — John Adams — Battles at Lexington and Concord — The Minute Men — Bunker's Hill — Putnam and Prescott — Death of Joseph Warren — Siege of Boston — George Washington Assumes Command — Henry Knox — The Evacuation of Boston by the British — New York.

Chapter II. Ticonderoga And Crown Point. , 5 1

Samuel Adams — John Hancock — Ethan Allen — The Green Mountain Boys — Benedict Arnold — Capture of Ticonderoga — Crown Point Taken — Skenesborough — Attack on St. Johns.

Chapter III. In And Around New York . .57

Declaration of Independence Adopted and Read to the Army — New York City — Howe's Fleet Arrives — Washington — Clinton — Cornwallis — Hessians — Battles on Long Island — Greene and Sullivan — Harlem Heiglits — Fort Washington — Retreat through New Jersey.

CHAPTER IV. THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA . 63 General Schuyler — Richard Montgomery — St. Johns — Ethan Allen Attempts to Surprise Montreal — Is Defeated, Captured, and sent Ironed to England — Carleton and the Indian Allies — Fort Chambly Captured — Montreal surrenders — Arnold's vi CONTENTS.

Journey Through Maine — Quebec Assaulted — The Patriots Repulsed — Aaron Burr — Death of Montgomery — Arnold Wounded — General Wooster — The Patriots Abandon Canada.

CHAPTER V. IN AND AROUND PHILADELPHIA . . 8l

Crossing the Delaware — Battle at Trenton — Defeat of the Hessians — Battle at Princeton — Cornwallis Abandons Jersey — Battle at Brandywine — British Occupy Philadelphia — Battle at Germantown — Valley Forge.

Chapter VI. The Campaign At The North . . 98

Burgoyne — Indian Allies — Ticonderoga Evacuated — Fort Edward — Battle at Bennington — Generals Stark and Gates — Bemis's Heights — Battles of Saratoga — Kosciusko — Arnold Wounded — Morgan — Lincoln — Burgoyne's Surrender — Ticonderoga and Crown Point Evacuated by the British.

CHAPTER Vn. THE STORMING OF STONY POINT . II5

Baron Steuben — Clinton — Washington and Anthony Wayne — Stony Point Captured.

CHAPTER VIII. THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH . 1 24 Clinton Carries the War South — Savannah Attacked and Reduced — Lincoln Takes Command of the Patriot Forces in the South — D'Estaing and His French Fleet — The Siege of Savannah Abandoned — Siege of Charleston by Clinton — Cornwallis Arrives — Charleston Surrenders — Clinton Returns to New York Leaving Cornwallis in Command — Battle at Camden — Death of DeKalb — General Gates Removed — Battle at Cowpens — Morgan and Carleton — Battle at Guilford — The Siege of Yorktown — French Fleet and Count De Grasse — Count Rochambeau — Washington Moves South — Naval Battle Between the French and British Fleets — Cornwallis Hemmed In — Cornwallis Surrenders — The Independence of the United States Acknowledged.

CONTENTS. vii

CHAPTER IX. THE REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON SEA. 1 54 The First Naval Action at Machias — Loss of tlie Raleigh — Capture of the Hawk and the Pigot — John Paul Jones — The Set-aphis and the Scarborough captured.

CHAPTER X. THE WAR OF 1812-1815 . . .169 Jefferson and the Embargo Act — The Leopard and the Chesapeake — War Declared — Dearborn Commands the Land Forces — Lower Canada Attacked — General Hull Surrenders Detroit to General Brock — Fort Dearborn at Chicago Evacuated — The Troops Massacred by the Indians — Another Expedition to Upper Canada Repulsed — The Essex Junto — General W. H. Harrison — Madison Becomes President — The Army Increased and a Navy Ordered Built — Defeat and Massacre at Frenchtown — Tecumseh — Repulse of the British Before Fort Meigs — Toronto Captured and Sacked — The British Destroy Plattsburg on Lake Champlain — Perry's Victory on Lake Erie — General Harrison's Victories — Jackson Battles with and Defeats the Indians — The British Squadron Defeated on Lake Champlain — Washington Burned — Baltimore Attacked — Fort McHenry Attacked — The British Repulsed and Move South — The New England Coasts Bombarded and Villages Destroyed — The British in the Gulf of Mexico — Louisiana Invaded — Jackson at New Orleans — The British Defeated and Packenham Killed — Peace Declared.

CHAPTER XI. THE SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815 . 209

The Constitution and Guerriere — The Waip and the Frolic — The United States and the Macedonian — The Constitution and the yava — The Hornet and the Peacock — The Chesapeake and the Shannon — The Argus and the Pelican — The Enterprise and the Boxer — Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie — The Loss of the Essex — The Loss of the President — The viii CONTENTS.

Capture of the Cyane and the Levant — The Capture of the Penotiin — Our Privateers — General Results.

CHAPTER XII. THE MEXICAN WAR .... 254 Texas and the Mexican Empire — General Houston and President Jackson — President Tyler — Texas Received as a State — Mexico Declares War — Zachary Taylor Takes Command of Our Forces in Mexico — The Battles in Mexico — Santa Anna — General Fremont and California — General Scott Places the Flag Over the Palace of the Montezumas — President Polk — Peace Proclaimed — Agreements with Mexico.

THE BATTLES OF AMERICA.

CHAPTER I. In and Around Boston (1775-1776)

The troubles that had for so long existed between the colonies and the mother country culminated with the Boston " Tea Party's " demonstration of independence. When the news reached England that 342 chests of tea had been cast overboard, a howl of rage went up from the King, his Ministers, and the merchants. The port of Boston was declared closed against all commerce till the tea should be paid for. The colonists realized that if the port of Boston could be closed, all the ports from New Hampshire to Georgia could also be closed, and the trade of the entire country ruined. The Northern and Southern States were drawn together by this new danger. " Don't pay for an ounce of their damned tea," was the message sent by Georgia's governor to the patriots of Boston. This voiced the general feeling of the entire community. Samuel and John Adams, Patrick Henry, and James Otis by their stirring and patriotic speeches aroused the people over the whole land.

Monday, September 5, 1774, was a great and important day in the annals of English America. It was the day on which the Congress of the United Provinces met in solemn session at Philadelphia. The Continental Congress had been a great success. Its counsels and lO

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resolves were ratified by all but one of the Provincial Congresses and Legislative Assemblies, and it was very generally felt that a protest of the most authentic and weighty kind possible had been made against the encroachments of the mother country. New York refused, in its representative chamber, to recognize what had been done and affirmed at Philadelphia. Here a large and influential class was imbued with royalist principles. Many of the rich colonists were

INDEPENDENCE HALL IN I776.

connected with families of distinction in England, and New York City had been the headquarters of the British army in America.

The soul of the movement now rapidly leading to rebellion was undoubtedly Massachusetts ; but Virginia had also a large share in the work of revolution. The petition of the Continental Congress was presented to King George III by Benjamin Franklin and the agents of Massachusetts only, the other colonial representa-

IN AND AROUND BOSTON.

II tives refusing to join. The King promised that it should be presented to Parliament, and in the meanwhile the professional politicians talked the matter over, with little agreement as to what should be done. The King remained firm in his policy of simple and unrelieved coercion.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

In February, 1775, it was resolved to raise the British army in Boston to 10,000 men, and to supersede General Gage by a general of greater capacity. The post was offered to Amherst, but he refused the command, unless he was placed at the head of 20,000 troops. It was next offered to General Oglethorpe,

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who would undertake the task only on condition of being furnished with powers of concession and con-

GEORGE III, KING OF ENGLAND.

ciliation, which were denied him. The post was finally accepted by Sir William Howe.

Under his command, Howe had two Major-Generals whose names became conspicuous in our history — Henry

IN AND AROUND BOSTON.

Clinton and John Burgoyne. Clinton was a scion of the ducal houses of New Castle and Bedford, and son of a former colonial Governor of New York. While Burgoyne's military abilities were not of the highest order, they were respectable, and his courage was

JOHN ADAMS. (^Afterwards President of the United States.)

beyond reproach. Howe had no reason to be discontented with either of his subordinates.

Every week added to the enthusiasm of the people, and Massachusetts still kept the lead. At a second interview with the American Commissioners John Adams was the spokesman, and said : " If Great

I A THE BATTLES OF AMERICA.

Britain were united, she could not subdue a country a thousand leagues off. How many years, how many millions, did it take to conquer the poor province of Canada ? " * * * He denied that the Parliament of England had authority over America. It had none by Old or New Testament law ; none by the law of nature or of nations ; none by the common law of England, nor by statute law.

The winter wore away in preparations for strife on both sides ; but these preparations were far more vigorous on the part of the colonists than on that of the British officials. Assistance flowed into Massachusetts from the other colonies, and a determination to die in defense of the common liberty was very generally expressed. In the North, Gage looked on with indolent good nature which he occasionally varied by unsuccessful attempts at severity. The colonists lost no opportunity of irritating the authorities by every demonstration of their sentiment which it was possible to make. The military were insulted with the utmost elaboration of studied affront. Any one considered as favoring the Government was liable to intimidation and to actual outrage. The royalist sympathizers were mobbed and terrified, and it was no uncommon spectacle to see a particularly obnoxious individual, after being treated to a coat of tar and feathers, ridden on a rail out of the town.

Lexington. — General Gage, learning that the " Committee of Supplies " appointed by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts Avere gathering military stores at Concord, sent about 8oo men, under Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, to destroy them. Attempts of this character had been expected, and a strict watch was kept ; and as signals were concerted to announce the first movement of troops for the country, a timely message from Warren led the Committee to remove a part of the stores and to secrete the cannon.

On April 1 8, 1775, ten sergeants in disguise spread themselves through Cambridge, and farther west to intercept all communication. In the following njo-ht the grenadiers and light infantry crossed in boats to East Cambridge and took the road through West Cambridge to Concord. °

"They will miss their aim," said one of a party who observed their departure. "What aim!" asked Lord Percy, who overheard the remark. " The cannon at Concord," was the answer. Percy hastened to Gao-e with the news, who directed that no one should be allowed to leave the town. But Warren had already despatched William Dawes through Roxbury, and Paul Revere by way of Charlestown to Lexington

Revere was stopped by two British officers, but beine mounted on a fine horse he escaped. As he rode through Medford he aroused the Captain of the Minute-men, and stopping at almost every house on his way to Lexington, the inhabitants were prepared to discharge the important duty which was rapidly devolving upon tnem. Dawes reached Lexington in safety.

The two friends were joined by Samuei Prescott— an active Son of Liberty— 2.^6. the three rode forward ca ling up the people as they passed along, till in Lincoln they fell in with a party of British officers Revere and Dawes were seized and taken back to Lexington where they were released, but Prescott escaped and galloped on towards Concord, spreading the alarm along the road, and in the villages through which he passed.

He reached Concord about two o'clock in the mornmg, and the alarm bell, on the belfry of the meetmg-house, brought together the inhabitants, young and old, with their firelocks, ready to make good the mmm.

resolute words of their town debates. Messengers hurried out to distant villages, or hurried away the stores and provisions, and secreted them in the woods and thickets, a load in a place.

At Lexington, by two o'clock, the village green was thronged with excited men. The aged stood shoulder to shoulder with their sons ; and by their example and experience gave encouragement and strength to the undisciplined masses who were present. 130 men answered to their names. The Captain, John Parker, ordered every one to load with powder and ball, but to take care not to be the first to fire. No signs of the approach of the enemy being visible, they were dismissed, with orders to reassemble at the roll of the drum.

About eleven o'clock, the foremost party, led by Pitcairn, a major of marines, was advancing quickly and in silence. Alarm guns were fired, and the drums beat. The British seeing that their advance was known, detached six companies of light infantry, with orders to press on, by a forced march, to Concord, and secure the two bridges over the river. Messengers were despatched to Boston for reinforcements.

Pitcairn advanced rapidly towards Lexington, capturing several persons on the way. One of these escaping, hastened to Lexington, and informed Captain Parker of the approach of the enemy. The drums beat, and about 70, who were in the neighborhood, assembled on the green, half of whom were without arms. Parker ordered those without arms to go into the meeting-house and equip themselves and join the company, while those who were armed, 38 in number, he directed to follow him to the north end of the green, where he formed them in line, in single file. Before those who were in the meeting-house could obtain arms and ammunition, Pitcairn and his detachment

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BRITISH GRENADIER.

came up, and wheeled so as to cut the former off, and prevented them from joining their comrades under Parker.

Marching up by column of platoons, the enemy advanced within 50 feet of the position occupied by Parker, and there halted.

Pitcairn then advanced a few feet in front of his men, brandished his sword, and shouted, " Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men ; " and immediately afterwards, " the rebels " failing to comply with his first order, he directed his men to "Fire." The order was followed first by a few guns, which did no execution, and then by a close and deadly discharge of musketry. In the disparity of numbers Parker ordered every man to take care of himself.and they accordingly dispersed. While they were retreating, the -^, second platoon of the enemy fired, killing several and wounding others. Then, and not till then, did a few of the Patriots, on their

IN AND AROUND BOSTON.

own impulse, return the British fire. These random shots of fugitives or dying men did no harm.

Seven of the Patriots were killed and nine wounded.

One who was taken prisoner, was shot in his endeavor to escape.

Thus was the first blood of the American Patriots shed by George III, and from that hour the domination of England over America passed forever away. Thus was fought the first skirmish for liberty, at Lexington, on April 19, 1775-

Concord. — The British pushed on to Concord, and destroyed the stores.

The liberty-pole and several gun-carriages were burned ; the Court-house took fire, but the fire was put out. The Patriots on the rising ground above Concord bridge had increased to more than 400.

One of them inquired earnestly, " Will you let them burn down the town?"

An impromptu council was held on the spot, and

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN.

with noble firmness it was resolved " to march into the middle of the town for its defense, or die in the attempt."

Colonel Barrett, on horseback in the rear, gave orders to advance, but not to fire unless attacked. " I have not a man that is afraid to go," said Isaac Davis, of Acton ; and drawing his sword, he cried, " March ! " His company being on the right, led the way towards the bridge, he, himself, at their head, and by his side Major John Buttrick, of Concord, followed by the Minute-men and militia, in double file, trailing arms. The British began to take up the planks ; to prevent it, the Patriots quickened their steps. At this the British fired one or two shots up the river ; then another, by which two were wounded. A volley followed, and Isaac Davis, and Abner Hosmer, the deacon's son, fell dead.

On seeing this, Major Buttrick gave the orders, '^Fire, fcllozv-soldiers; for God's sake, fire;" and a general discharge from the whole line of the Patriots was given, several of the enemy, including three lieutenants, falling on the spot. In two minutes, all was hushed. The British retreated in disorder towards their main body; the countrymen were left in possession of the bridge. This is the world-renowned Battle of Concord ; more eventful than Agincourt, or Blenheim,

The Patriots had acted from impulse. They made no pursuit. The enemy observed their movements with anxiety and alarm. Everything indicated a spirit of resolute opposition, and the British Colonel, Smith, prepared for a hasty retreat. He left the town about noon, to retreat the way he came, along the hilly road that wound through forests and thickets. The Patriots ran over the hills opposite the battlefield, and placed themselves in ambush near the junction of the Bedford road. There they were reinforced by men from all around, and at that point the chase of the British began.

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Every piece of wood, every rock by the wayside, served as a lurking place. Scarce ten of the Patriots were at any time seen together; yet the hills on each side seemed to the British to swarm with " rebels," as if they had dropped from the clouds, and " the road was lined " by an unintermitted fire from behind stone walls and trees.

At first the invaders moved in order; but as they drew near Lexington, their flanking parties became ineffective from weariness; the wounded were scarce able to get forward. In the west of Lexington a sharp contest ensued. The British troops, "greatly exhausted and fatigued, and having expended almost all their ammunition," began to run rather than retreat in order. The officers vainly tried to stop their flight. " They were driven before the Americans like sheep." At last, about two in the afternoon, about a mile below the field of the morning's bloodshed, the officers made their way to the front, and by menaces of death began to form them, under a very heavy fire.

At that moment Lord Percy came in sight with a brigade of nearly 1200 men, with two field-pieces. While the cannon kept the Patriots at bay, Percy formed his detachment into a square, inclosing the fugitives, who lay down for rest on the ground, "their tongues hanging out of their mouths like those of dogs after a chase."

From this time, the Patriots had to contend against nearly the whole of the British army in Boston. ItS' best troops, fully two-thirds of its whole number, and more than that proportion of its strength, were now with Percy. And yet delay was sure to prove ruinous. The British must fly speedily and fleetly, or be overwhelmed.

From far and wide Minute-men were gathering. The men of Dedham went forth in such numbers that scarce one male between i6 and 70 was left at home. That morning William Prescott mustered his regiment; and though Pepperell was so remote that he could not be in season for the pursuit, he hastened down with five companies of guards. Before noon, a messenger rode at full speed into Worcester, crying, " To Arms ! " A fresh horse was brought, and the tidings went on; while the men of that town kept on the march till they reached Cambridge.

Aware of his perilous position, Percy rested for half an hour, and renewed the retreat. He was exposed to a fire on each side, in front, and from behind. The Patriots, who were good marksmen, would lie down concealed to load their guns in one place, and discharge them at another, running from front to flank, and from flank to rear.

Beyond Lexington, the troops were attacked by men chiefly from Essex, and the lower towns. At West Cambridge, Joseph Warren and William Heath gave for a time some little appearance of organization, and the fight grew sharper and more determined. A musket-ball grazed the head of Warren, who was ever in the place of greatest danger. The British became more and more "exasperated," and indulged in savage cruelty. Of the Patriots there were never more than 400 together at any one time; but, as some grew tired or used up their ammunition, others took their places, and, though there was not much concert or discipline, and no attack with masses, the pursuit never flagged.

Below West Cambridge, the militia from Dorchester, Roxbury, and Brookline came up. The British field-pieces now lost their terror, and the patriots pressed upon the rear of the fugitives, whose retreat could not become more precipitate. Had it been delayed a half hour longer, or had Pickering, with his fine regiment from Salem, Danvers, and Marblehead, been alert to have intercepted them in front, it was thought that, worn down as they were by fatigue and exhausted of ammunition, they must have surrendered. But a Httle after sunset, the survivors escaped across Charlestown Neck.

The fighting had continued at its hottest for seven hours, and the result contributed to raise the spirits and confidence of the Patriots, and to depress the British. The news of what had been accomplished was carried by mounted messengers from town to town in every direction, so that in a remarkably short time the fact was known all over the land. The enthusiastic response it awakened was proof conclusive that the whole of the Colonies from Maine to Georgia, and from the Atlantic to the western prairies, were ripe for revolt.

Percy's troops had marched 30 miles in ten hours ; and the party under Smith had retreated 20 miles in six hours ; the guns of the ships-of-war and a menace to burn the town of Charlestown saved them from annoyance during their rest on Bunker Hill and while they were ferried across Charles River.

The loss of the Patriots, exclusive of those already accounted as being killed at Lexington, in the morning, was 85 killed, wounded, and missing. The loss of the British in killed, wounded, and missing was 273 ; greater than in the battle before Quebec, where Wolfe fell. Among the wounded were many officers.

All the following night, the men of Massachusetts streamed in from scores of miles around, old men as well as young. They had scarce a semblance of artillery or warlike stores, no powder, no organization, nor provisions ; but they were there, thousands with brave hearts, determined to rescue the liberties of their country. " The night preceding the outrages at Lexington, there were not fifty people in the whole colony that ever expected any blood would be shed in the contest;" the

IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 2Q

night after, the King's government and the King's army found themselves closely beleaguered in Boston; and the power of the royal governors was broken from Massachusetts to Georgia,

Bunker's Hill (June 17, 1775). — The Minute men and the militiamen who had hurried to Boston, on receipt of the news from Lexington, had gradually

RATTLESNAKE FLAG, USED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.

returned to their homes, and their places were filled with troops enlisted for terms of service, varying from three to twelve months in extent. It was " a mixed multitude," as yet, under very little discipline, order, or government. There were the materials for a good army in the private men, of whom great numbers were able-bodied, active, and unquestionably brave, and there were also officers worthy of

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leading such men. There was a great want of money and of clothing, of engineers; but above all, of ammunition. The scanty store of powder was reserved for the small arms, and used with great frugality. Greene and Putnam worked like beavers ; inciting the men and encouraging them. General Ward was placed in command. His age and infirmities combined to increase the caution which the state of the camp made imperative. He was unwilling to hazard defeat, and inclined to wait the solution of events from the negotiations of the Continental Congress. It was suggested that Cambridge could not be held, and that it would be wiser to go back and fortify on the heights of Brookline. " We must hold Cambridge," was Putnam's constant reply, and he repeatedly but vainly asked leave to advance the lineis to Prospect Hill.

The dishonorable position which the King's army was compelled to occupy was galling. "Bloody work" was expected, and it was rumored that they were determined to lay the country waste with fire and sword. George HI was counting the days necessary for the voyage of his transports that were to " disperse the rebels, destroy their works, open up a communication with the country, and imprison the leading patriots of the colony."

The Committee of Safety decided "that Bunker's Hill be maintained by sufficient force being posted there;" and accordingly on June i6, measures were taken to occupy and hold the hill. The regiments under Prescott, Frye, and Bridge, all of Massachusetts, and 200 Connecticut troops under Captain Knowlton, were ordered to parade on Cambridge Common, at six o'clock in the evening. With these were Captain Gridley's company of artillery of 49 men and two field-pieces. The men took their packs and blankets, with provisions for 24 hours, and the entrenching tools belonging to the

GENERAL IbKAEL PUTNAM.

3«

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camp. The" character of the service they were to perform was not divulged even to the officers. At the appointed time nearly lOOO men appeared on the Common ; and the command was assumed by Colonel William Prescott, to whom written orders had been given by General Ward.

Langdon, the president of Harvard College, who was one of the chaplains to the army, prayed with them fervently ; then, as the late darkness closed in, they marched for Charlestown in the face of the proclamation, issued only four days before, by which all persons taken in arms against their sovereign, were threatened under martial law with " death by the cord as rebels and traitors." Prescott and his men were the first to give the menace defiance. For himself, he was resolved " never to be taken alive."

The CoDimittce had recommended Bunker's Hill, but Prescott had " received orders to march to Breed's Hill, as being the more commanding site." Heedless of personal danger, he obeyed the orders, which better suited the daring spirits of his companions.

The lines of a redoubt, about eight rods square, were accordingly drawn on Breed's Hill, and work was begun. The bells of Boston struck twelve before the first sod was thrown up. Then every man of the thousand seized in his turn the pickaxe and the spade, and they plied their tools with such expedition, that rapidly and surely the breastwork " assumed form, and height, and capacity for defense."

The day was the hottest of the season. After their fatigues through the night, the Patriots might all have pleaded their unfitness for action ; some, indeed, left the post. Yet Prescott was dismayed neither by fatigue nor desertion. " Let us never consent to being relieved," he said to his own regiment and to those who remained; " these are the works of our own hands ; to us be the