This seems, from the evidence on the trials and the observation of persons present, to have been the course of the material facts. Three men were killed, two mortally wounded, who died soon after, and several slightly wounded. The soldiers immediately withdrew to the main guard, which was strengthened by additional companies. Two or three of the persons who had seen the action ran to the lieutenant-governor’s house, which was about half a mile distant, and begged he would go to King street, where they feared a general action would come on between the troops and the inhabitants. He went immediately, and, to satisfy the people, called for captain Preston, and inquired why he had fired upon the inhabitants without the direction of a civil magistrate. The noise was so great that his answer could not be understood; and some persons, who were apprehensive of the lieutenant-governor’s danger from the general confusion, called out, ‘The town-house, the town-house!’ when, with irresistible violence, he was forced up by the crowd into the council chamber.There demand was immediately made of him, to order the troops to withdraw from the town-house to their barracks. He refused; but calling from the balcony to the great body of people who remained in the street, he expressed his great concern at the unhappy event; assured them he would do every thing in his power to obtain a full and impartial inquiry, that the law might have its course; and advised them to go peaceably to their homes. Upon this there was a cry—‘Home, home!’ and a great part separated, and went home. He then signified his opinion to lieutenant-colonel Carr, that if the companies in arms were ordered to their barracks, the streets would be cleared and the town in quiet for that night. Upon their retiring, the rest of the inhabitants, except those in the council chamber, retired also.Lieutenant-colonel Dalrymple, at the desire of the lieutenant-governor, came to the council chamber, while several justices were examining persons who were present at the transactions of the evening. From the evidence it was apparent that the justices would commit captain Preston, if taken. Several hours passed before he could be found, and the people suspected that he would not run the hazard of a trial; but at length he surrendered himself to a warrant for apprehending him, and, having been examined, was committed to prison. The next morning the soldiers who were upon guard surrendered also, and were committed. This was not sufficient to satisfy the people, and early in the forenoon they were in motion again. The lieutenant-governor caused his council to be summoned, and desired the two lieutenant-colonels of the regiments to be present. The selectmen of Boston were waiting the lieutenant-governor’s coming to council, and, being admitted, made their representation, that, from the contentions arising from the troops quartered in Boston, and, above all, from the tragedy of the last night, the minds of the inhabitants were exceedingly disturbed; that they would presently be assembled in a town meeting; and that, unless the troops should be removed, the most terrible consequences were to be expected.The justices also of Boston and several of the neighboring towns had assembled, and desired to signify their opinion, that it would not be possible to keep the people under restraint, if the troops remained in town. The lieutenant-governor acquainted both the selectmen and the justices,that he had no authority to alter the place of destination of the king’s troops; but that he expected the commanding officers of the two regiments, and would let them know the applications which had been made. Presently after their coming, a large committee from the town meeting presented an address to the lieutenant-governor, declaring it to be the unanimous opinion of the meeting that nothing could rationally be expected to restore the peace of the town, ‘and prevent blood and carnage,’ but the immediate removal of the troops. The committee withdrew into another room to wait for an answer. Some of the council urged the necessity of complying with the people’s demand; but the lieutenant-governor declared that he would, upon no consideration whatever, give orders for their removal. Lieutenant-colonel Dalrymple then signified, that, as the twenty-ninth regiment had originally been designed to be placed at the castle, and was now peculiarly obnoxious to the town, he was content that it should be removed to the castle, until the general’s pleasure should be known. The committee was informed of this offer, and the lieutenant-governor rose from council, intending to receive no further application upon the subject; but the council prayed that he would meet them again in the afternoon, and colonel Dalrymple desiring it also, he complied.Before the council met again, it had been intimated to them that the ‘desire’ of the governor and council to the commanding officer to remove the troops, would cause him to do it, though he should receive no authoritative ‘order.’ As soon as they met, a committee from the town meeting attended with a second message, to acquaint the lieutenant-governor that it was the unanimous voice of the people assembled, consisting, as they said, of near three thousand persons, that nothing less than a total and immediate removal of the troops would satisfy them. Ultimately the scruples of the lieutenant-governor were overcome, and he expressed his desire that the troops should be wholly withdrawn from the town to the castle, which was accordingly done. The funeral of the victims was attended with extraordinary pomp. Most of the shops were closed, all the bells of the town tolled on the occasion, and the corpses were followed to the grave by an immense concourse of people arranged six abreast, the procession being closed by a long train of carriages belonging to the principal gentry of the town. Captain Preston and the party of soldiers were afterwards tried. The captain and six of the men were acquitted, and two were brought in guilty of manslaughter; a result which reflected great honor on John Adams and Josiah Quincy, the council for the prisoners, and on the jury.During the year 1771, nothing of moment occurred either in Boston or the colonies. The encouragement given by the agreement of the merchants to smuggling, occasioned continual contests with revenue officers; and it appears that the magistrates, when appealed to, refused to interfere. One circumstance, however, transpired, which must not be omitted. Early in this year,Mr.Hutchinson received his appointment to the office of governor of Massachusetts, an office which his political opponents allege to have always been the darling object of his ambition; while he maintains, that, however in ordinary times he might have desired it, he now ‘determined, not only to desire to be excused from the honor intended for him, but to be superseded in his place of lieutenant-governor; and he wrote to the secretary of state accordingly.’The occurrences of the year 1772, afforded new sources of mutual animosity. The destruction of his majesty’s revenue schooner Gaspee, was one of those popular excesses which highly incensed the British ministry. Lieutenant Doddington, who commanded that vessel, had become very obnoxious to the inhabitants of Rhode Island, by his extraordinary zeal in the execution of the revenue laws. On the9thof June, the Providence packet was sailing into the harbor of Newport, and lieutenant Doddington thought proper to require the captain to lower his colors. This the captain of the packet deemed repugnant to his patriotic feelings, and the Gaspee fired at the packet to bring her to: the American, however, still persisted in holding on her course, and by keeping in shoal water, dexterously contrived to run the schooner aground in the chase.As the tide was upon the ebb, the Gaspee was set fast for the night, and afforded a tempting opportunity for retaliation; and a number of fishermen, aided and encouraged by some of the most respectable inhabitants of Providence, being determined to rid themselves of so uncivil an inspector, in the middle of the night manned several boats, and boarded the Gaspee. The lieutenant was wounded in the affray; but, with every thing belonging to him, he was carefully conveyed on shore, as were all his crew. The vessel, with her stores, was then burnt; and the party returned unmolested to their homes. When the governor became acquainted with this event, he offered a reward of five hundred pounds for the discovery of the offenders, and the royal pardon to those who would confess their guilt. Commissioners were appointed also to investigate the offence, and bring the perpetrators to justice; but, after remaining some time in session, they reported that they could obtain no evidence, and thus the affair terminated; a circumstance which forcibly illustrates the inviolable brotherhood which then united the people against the government.Active resistance to the measures of the British government in relation to the colonies, had for some time been principally confined to Massachusetts. The other colonists, however, had not been idle or indifferent spectators of the scenes that had passed in Massachusetts. To remain long in their present state seemed impossible; and in the event of an opposition by force, unity of action, as well as of sentiment, was all important. To promote this object, the house of burgesses in Virginia originated what ultimately proved a powerful engine of resistance—a committee for corresponding with the legislatures of the several colonies; and by this means a confidential communication and interchange of opinions was kept up between them.The British government determined to carry the duty on tea into effect, and the East India company were authorized to export their tea free of duties to all places whatever; by which means it could be furnished more cheaply in America than before it had been made a source of revenue.Confident of finding a market at their reduced prices, the company freighted several ships with that article, and appointed agents for the disposal of it. Cargoes were sent to New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and Boston. The inhabitants of the two former cities sent the ships back to London; and in the latter the tea was unloaded and stored in cellars, where it finally perished.At Boston, before the vessels arrived with it, a town meeting was called to devise measures to prevent the landing and sale within the province.The agreement not to use tea while a duty was imposed was now solemnly renewed; and a committee was chosen to request the consignees of the East India company neither to sell nor unlade the tea which should be brought into the harbor. They communicated the wishes of the town to the merchants, who were to have the custody and sale of the tea; but they declined making any such promise, as they had received no orders or directions on the subject. On the arrival of the vessels with the tea in the harbor of Boston, another meeting of the citizens was immediately called. ‘The hour of destruction,’ it was said, ‘or of manly opposition, had now come;’ and all who were friends to the country were invited to attend, ‘to make an united and successful resistance to this last and worst measure of the administration.’ A great number of the people assembled from the adjoining towns, as well as from the capital, in the celebrated Faneuil hall, the usual place of meeting on such occasions, but the meeting was soon adjourned to one of the largest churches in the town. Here it was voted, as it had been at a meeting before the tea arrived, that they would use all lawful means to prevent its being landed, and to have it returned immediately to England.After several days spent in negotiations, the consignees still refused to return the tea, and, fearing the vengeance of an injured people, they retired to the castle. The owner of the ship which brought the tea was unable to obtain a pass for her sailing, as the officer was in the interest of the British ministers. Application was then made to the governor, to order that a pass be given for the vessel; but he declined interfering in the affair. When it was found no satisfactory arrangement could be effected, the meeting broke up; but, late in the evening, a number of men, disguised as Mohawk Indians, proceeded to the vessels, then lying at the wharf, which had the tea on board, and in a short time every chest was taken out, and the contents thrown into the sea; but no injury was done to any other part of their cargoes. The inhabitants of the town, generally, had no knowledge of the event until the next day. It is supposed, the number of those concerned in the affair was about fifty; but who they were has been only a matter of conjecture to the present day.PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION.The British ministry appear to have been highly gratified that the town of Boston, which they ever regarded as the focus of sedition in America, had rendered itself, by the violent destruction of the property of the East India company, obnoxious to their severest vengeance. On the7thof March lord North presented a message from his majesty to both houses of parliament, commenting on the outrageous proceedings at the town and port of Boston. In a few days a bill was introduced ‘for the immediate removal of the officers concerned in the collection of customs from Boston, and to discontinue the landing and discharging, lading and shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise, at Boston, or within the harbor thereof.’ The bill also levied a fine upon the town, as a compensation to the East India company for the destruction of their teas, and was to continue in force during the pleasure of the king. The opposition to this measure was very slight, and it was finally carried in both houses without a division.This, however, was only a part of lord North’s scheme of coercion. He proposed two other bills, which were intended to strike terror into the province of Massachusetts, and to deter the other colonies from following her example. By one of these, the constitution and charter of the province were completely subverted, all power taken out of the hands of the people, and placed in those of the servants of the crown. The third scheme of lord North was the introduction of ‘a bill for the impartial administration of justice in Massachusetts.’ By this act, persons informed against or indicted for any act done for the support of the laws of the revenue, or for the suppression of riots in Massachusetts, might by the governor, with the advice of the council, be sent for trial to any other colony, or to Great Britain; an enactment which, in effect, conferred impunity on the officers of the crown, however odious might be their violations of the law.These plans of the administration were opposed by Burke, lord Chatham, Barré, and others, in language of the highest indignation. They originated in mistaken views of the opinion and temper of the people. The government, too, maintained that any measures were justifiable for supporting the authority of the king and parliament, and calculated on bringing the refractory and disaffected to submission by severity and force.As a measure indicative of a determination to conduct the proceedings against the refractory colonists with the utmost vigor, general Gage was appointed, with powers of the most unlimited extent, to supersede governor Hutchinson. The offices of governor of the province of Massachusetts and commander of his majesty’s forces in America were united in his person. The intelligence of the passing of the Boston port bill had preceded general Gage a few days. On the day after his arrival, the general court having been dissolved by the late governor, a town meeting was convened and very numerously attended. They declared and resolved, ‘that the impolicy, injustice, inhumanity, and cruelty of the act, exceed all their powers of expression; and therefore,’ they say, ‘we leave it to the censure of others, and appeal to God and the world.’ They also declared it as their opinion, that, ‘if the other colonies come into a joint resolution to stop all importation from, and exportation to, Great Britain, and every part of the West Indies, till the act be repealed, the same would prove the salvation of North America and her liberties.’The idea was probably entertained by the British ministry, that the other colonies would be inclined rather to avail themselves of the commercial advantages which the closing of one of the chief sea-ports would open to them, than to make common cause with Boston, at the hazard of incurring a similar penalty. In this instance, as in most others, the government made a great miscalculation of American character. The several colonies lost no time in expressing the deepest sympathy for the sufferings of the inhabitants of Boston, and in contributing to their pecuniary necessities, as well as in affording them moral countenance. In this patriotic course Virginia took the lead.The convention of Virginia recommended to the committee of correspondence, that they should communicate with their several corresponding committees, on the expediency of appointing deputies from the several colonies of British America, to meet in general congress at such place annually as might be deemed most convenient; there to deliberate onthose general measures which the united interests of America might from time to time require.Similar expressions of determined opposition to the port bill, and assurances of support to the disfranchised citizens of Boston, were made wherever the act became known. In some places it was printed upon mourning paper, and hawked about the streets; in others it was publicly burned, with every demonstration of abhorrence. At New York there was a considerable struggle between the friends of administration and the friends of liberty, but the latter at length prevailed, by the influence and management of two individuals, who had on several occasions manifested great activity and zeal in their opposition to the obnoxious measures of the ministry. Addresses were also sent from Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, and some other provinces, to the committee of Boston, assuring them of support, and declaring that they considered the cause of Boston as the common cause of the country.The two last of the coercive enactments of the British legislature did not reach Boston till July. By one, the governor alone was authorized to appoint all civil officers; and by the other, the counsellors were to be selected by the king and his ministers in England. A list of those appointed was soon made known, and gave great dissatisfaction, as they were the most unpopular characters in the province. To add to the anxiety which now pervaded every breast, a large military force was ordered into the province, an act of parliament having been passed, which directed the governor to provide quarters for them in any town he might choose.It had been agreed by the delegates which had now been appointed by most of the colonies, that they should meet in general congress in September; and the desire to await the result of its determinations prevented any violent proceedings during the interim; while, however, great attention was given by the inhabitants to military discipline. Independent companies were formed, who elected their own officers, many of whom had served during the French war, and were well able to instruct their pupils in military tactics. On the other hand, general Gage was no less active in adopting measures calculated, in his estimation, to overawe the inhabitants, and to deter them from having recourse to force. With this view, although ostensibly for the purpose of preventing desertion, he fortified the isthmus which connects Boston with the main land, called Boston neck, the only entrance by land into the town of Boston, and therefore the only route by which, according to the port bill, the merchants and traders could carry on their business. This measure, however, served only the more to exasperate the people, and the subsequent seizure of the gunpowder at Charlestown added to their alarm.Before daybreak, on the1stof September, general Gage despatched a party of soldiers to bring into his own custody a quantity of provincial powder from the arsenal at Charlestown. Immediately this transaction became generally known, the inhabitants of the neighboring towns flew to arms, and agreed on Cambridge as a general rendezvous; and it was with great difficulty that they were dissuaded, by their more prudent leaders, from marching at once to Boston to require the restoration of the powder, or, in case of refusal, to attack the garrison.It was under the excitement of these circumstances that, in defiance of the act of parliament, and the governor’s proclamation founded upon itprohibiting public assemblies, the county of Suffolk, of which Boston was the capital, elected delegates to meet for the purpose of taking into consideration the most proper course to be adopted in the present state of affairs. With a boldness and decision surpassing that of any former assembly, they passed resolutions declaring themselves constitutionally exempt from all obedience to the late measures of the British parliament, that the government of the province was in fact dissolved, and that they should consider all persons who dared to act in any official capacity under the new regulations as open enemies of their country. They sent a copy of their resolutions, and of their letter to the governor, with his answer, to the general congress, upon whose judgment they rested the decision of their future conduct.This congress, which will ever be celebrated in the page of history, and held sacred in the annals of liberty, met at Philadelphia, on the5thof September. Representatives from eleven of the colonies were present at the opening, and those from North Carolina arrived shortly after; Georgia alone having demurred to send delegates. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was elected president, and Charles Thompson, of Philadelphia, secretary; and after a brief controversy on the mode of voting, which resulted in the determination that each province should have only one vote, whatever number of delegates might be present, the assembly proceeded to business with all the solemnity of an organized legislature.‘The most eminent men of the various colonies were now, for the first time, brought together. They were known to each other by fame, but they were personally strangers. The meeting was awfully solemn. The object which had called them together was of incalculable magnitude. The liberties of no less than three millions of people, with that of all their posterity, were staked on the wisdom and energy of their councils. No wonder, then, at the long and deep silence which is said to have followed upon their organization; at the anxiety with which the members looked round upon each other, and the reluctance which every individual felt to open a business so fearfully momentous. In the midst of this deep and death-like silence, and just when it was beginning to become painfully embarrassing,Mr.Henry arose slowly, as if borne down by the weight of the subject. After faltering, according to his habit, through a most impressive exordium, in which he merely echoed back the consciousness of every other heart, in deploring his inability to do justice to the occasion, he launched gradually into a recital of the colonial wrongs. Rising, as he advanced, with the grandeur of his subject, and glowing at length with all the majesty of the occasion,his speech seemed more than that of mortalman.’109Mr.Henry was followed byMr.Richard Henry Lee, in a speech scarcely less powerful, and still more replete with classic eloquence. One spirit of ardent love of liberty pervaded every breast, and produced a unanimity as advantageous to the cause they advocated, as it was unexpected and appalling to their adversaries.One of the first acts of this assembly was the appointment of a committee, consisting of two from each colony, to state the rights of the colonists in general, the several instances in which those rights had been violated, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration ofthem. The congress proceeded with great deliberation; its debates were held with closed doors, and it was not till the14thof October that they published a series of resolutions, embodying in spirited language their opinions on the chief subjects of difference between the colonies and the mother country. An agreement was also signed by all the members to abstain from commercial intercourse with Great Britain.Upon the principles and in the spirit of the preceding resolutions, was composed an address to the people of Great Britain, as also one to the king; a statement to the aggrieved colonies, and an address to the inhabitants of Canada. These documents were drawn up with great ability. The gentlemen selected from the several colonies for this memorable congress were no less distinguished for their talents than their patriotism; and when perusing these state papers, no one can fail to regret that the speeches delivered on that occasion by such distinguished statesmen and orators as John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Dickinson, Samuel Chase, John Rutledge, and many others of that illustrious band of patriots, are lost to the world.During the session of the congress most of the colonies had adopted the plan of instituting provincial assemblies, regardless of their old form of government. In Massachusetts, general Gage had convoked a general court, to assemble at Salem, on the5thof October; but events which subsequently transpired, induced him to issue a proclamation dissolving the assembly. The members, however, regarded that proclamation as illegal, and met at Salem on the day appointed. After waiting in vain the whole day for the governor’s appearance to administer the oaths, they resolved themselves into a provincial congress, and adjourned to Concord. After appointing John Hancock president, and addressing a communication to the governor, they again adjourned, to meet at Cambridge on the17th. Here they appointed a committee of safety, and a committee of supplies. They also voted to enlist one-fourth of the militia as minute men, to be frequently drilled, and held in readiness for service at a minute’s warning; and after appointing three general officers, they adjourned to the23dof November.Before the close of the year the busy note of preparation resounded through almost every colony. The Massachusetts committees were indefatigable in providing for the most vigorous defence in the spring. They had procured all sorts of military supplies for the service of twelve thousand men, and had engaged the assistance of the three neighboring provinces of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.While these hostile preparations were proceeding in America, the British monarch was meeting a new parliament. The king informed his parliament, that a most daring resistance and disobedience to the law still prevailed in Massachusetts, and had broken out in fresh violences; that these proceedings had been countenanced and encouraged in the other colonies, and that unwarrantable attempts had been made to obstruct the commerce of the kingdom, by unlawful combinations; and he expressed his firm determination to withstand every attempt to weaken or impair the supreme authority of parliament over all the dominions of the crown. Addresses in answer to the speech, concurring in the sentiments expressed by the king, were carried in both houses, by large majorities.After the recess, parliament met on the20thof January, and on thesame day lord Chatham moved, ‘That an humble address be presented to his majesty, most humbly to advise and beseech his majesty, that, in order to open the way towards our happy settlement of the dangerous troubles in America, by beginning to allay ferments and soften animosities there; and, above all, for preventing in the mean time any sudden and fatal catastrophe at Boston, now suffering under daily irritation of an army before their eyes, posted in their town; it may graciously please his majesty that immediate orders may be despatched to general Gage for removing his majesty’s forces from the town of Boston, as soon as the rigor of the season and other circumstances, indispensable to the safety and accommodation of the said troops, may render the same practicable.’ This motion was supported by one of the most eloquent and impressive speeches ever delivered by that distinguished statesman and orator.Lord Chatham’s motion was seconded by lord Camden, who affirmed that ‘whenever oppression begins, resistance becomes lawful and right;’ and it was ably supported by the marquis of Rockingham and lord Shelburne; but, like all other motions opposed to the views of the ministry, it was lost by a large majority. The administration declared their determination never to relax in their measures of coercion, until America was forced into obedience. This, however, did not prevent lord Chatham from presenting to the house, soon afterwards, a bill, containing his favorite plan ‘for settling the troubles, and for asserting the supreme legislative authority and superintending power of Great Britain over the colonies.’ Though this bill, as it contained a direct avowal of the supreme authority of parliament over the colonies, in all cases except that of taxation, could never have received the assent of the Americans, yet, as it expressly denied the parliamentary power of taxing the colonies, without the consent of their assemblies, and made other concessions,it was rejected by a large majority on its firstreading.110On the20thof February, lord North astonished both his friends and opponents, by introducing into the house of commons a proposition of a conciliatory nature. This was at first opposed from all quarters, but those who usually acted with the minister were finally persuaded to join him in this measure. But it did not preventMr.Burke andMr.Hartley from presenting to the house their respective plans of reconciliation. They were of course rejected by the ministerial majority.While most of the colonies afforded sufficient occupation for the watchfulness of the British government, those of New England called forth the most vigorous efforts of the royalists, both by sea and land. The naval forces were frequently engaged in destroying armed American vessels, congress having fitted out several, which were very successful in capturing store ships sent with supplies of provisions and ammunition for the royal army. At Gloucester, the Falcon sloop of war, having chased an American vessel into the harbor, despatched three boats, with about forty men, to bring her off, when the party were so warmly received by the militia who had collected on the shore, that the captain thought it necessary to send a reinforcement, and to commence cannonading the town. A very smart action ensued, which was kept up for several hours, but resulted in the complete defeat of the assailants, leaving upwards of thirty prisoners in the hands of the Americans. This repulse excited the British to deeds of revenge upon several of the defenceless towns on the coast, and to declare that many of them should be reduced to ashes, unless the inhabitants consented to an unconditional compliance with all their demands.Another occurrence also tended to mutual exasperation. In compliance with a resolution of the provincial congress to prevent tories from conveying out their effects, the inhabitants of Falmouth, in the north-eastern part of Massachusetts, had obstructed the loading of a mast ship. The destruction of the town was therefore determined on, as an example of vindictive punishment. Captain Mowat, detached for that purpose with armed vessels by admiral Greaves, arrived off the place on the evening of the17thof October, and gave notice to the inhabitants that he would allow them two hours ‘to remove the human species.’ The next day, captain Mowat commenced a furious cannonade and bombardment; and a great number of people, standing on the heights, were spectators of the conflagration, which reduced many of them to penury and despair. More than four hundred houses and stores were burnt. Newport, Rhode Island, being threatened with a similar attack, was compelled to stipulate for a weekly supply to avert it.Warlike operations were not confined to the sea-ports. Their success in the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point stimulated the Americans to more extensive operations in the north; and the movements of Sir G. Carleton, the governor of Canada, appeared to call for them, congress having reason to believe that a formidable invasion was intended from that quarter. The management of military affairs in this department had been committed to the generals Schuyler and Montgomery. On the10thof September, about one thousand American troops effected a landing atSt.John’s, the first British port in Canada, lying one hundred and fifteen miles only to the northward of Ticonderoga, but found it advisable to retreat to Isle aux Noix, twelve miles south ofSt.John’s. An extremely bad stateof health soon after inducing general Schuyler to retire to Ticonderoga, the command devolved on general Montgomery. That enterprising officer in a few days returned to the vicinity ofSt.John’s, and opened a battery against it; and the reduction of fort Chamblee, by a small detachment, giving him possession of six tons of gunpowder, enabled him to prosecute the siege ofSt.John’s with vigor. General Carleton advanced against him with about eight hundred men; but, in attempting to cross theSt.Lawrence, with the intention of landing at Langueil, he was attacked by colonel Warner, at the head of three hundred Green Mountain boys, and compelled to retire with precipitancy. This repulse induced the garrison ofSt.John’s to surrender, on honorable terms of capitulation.While Montgomery was prosecuting the siege ofSt.John’s, colonel Ethan Allen, who had been despatched on a service necessary to that object, hearing that Montreal was in a defenceless state, attempted its capture without the knowledge of his superior in command; he was, however, with a part of his detachment, taken prisoner, and, to the disgrace of general Carleton, loaded with irons, and in that state sent to England. After the capture ofSt.John’s, Montgomery directed his attention to Montreal, with different success. On his approach, the few British troops there repaired on board the shipping, in hopes of escaping down the river; but general Prescot, and several officers, with about one hundred and twenty privates, were intercepted, and made prisoners on capitulation; eleven sail of vessels, with all their contents, fell into the hands of the provincials. Governor Carleton was secretly conveyed away in a boat with muffled paddles, and arrived safely at Quebec. General Montgomery, leaving some troops in Montreal, and sending detachments into different parts of the province to encourage the Canadians and to forward provisions, advanced with his little army to Quebec, where he found, to his surprise, that a body of American troops had arrived before.General Washington, foreseeing that the whole force of Canada would be concentrated about Montreal, had projected an expedition against Quebec in a different direction from that of Montgomery. His plan was to send out a detachment from his camp before Boston, to march by way of Kennebec river; and, passing through the dreary wilderness lying between the settled parts of the province of Maine and theSt.Lawrence, to penetrate into Canada about ninety miles below Montreal. This extraordinary and most arduous enterprise was committed to colonel Arnold, who, with one thousand one hundred men, consisting of New England infantry, some volunteers, a company of artillery, and three companies of riflemen, commenced his march on the13thof September. It is almost impossible to conceive the labor, hardships, and difficulties which this detachment had to encounter in their progress up the rapid stream of the Kennebec, frequently interrupted by falls, where they were obliged to land and carry the boats upon their shoulders, until they surmounted them, through a country wholly uninhabited, with a scanty supply of provisions, the season cold and rainy, and the men daily dropping down with fatigue, sickness and hunger.Arnold was indefatigable in his endeavors to alleviate the distresses of his men, but to procure provisions for them was not in his power. They were at one time reduced to so great an extremity of hunger, that the dogs belonging to the army were killed and eaten, and many of the soldiers devouredtheir leather cartouch boxes. Arnold and his party at length arrived at Point Levi, opposite the town of Quebec: but in consequence of information the British had received, by the treachery of the Indian to whom Arnold had intrusted a letter to general Schuyler, the boats which he expected to find there to transport his troops across the river had been removed, and the enemy were no longer in a state to be surprised. Arnold, however, was not to be deterred from attempting something against the town; he calculated strongly upon the defection of the inhabitants: and having supplied himself with canoes, he crossed the river in the night, and gained possession of the heights of Abraham. Here, though he had no artillery, and scarcely half the number of men that composed the garrison of the town, he made a bold experiment to try the loyalty of the enemy’s troops, by sending a flag to summon them to surrender. But no message would be admitted, and Arnold found himself compelled to retire to more comfortable quarters, where he awaited the arrival of general Montgomery.Voyage up the Kennebec.General Carleton, who, as we have already stated, had arrived at Quebec, had taken the best measures for its defence, and was prepared to receive him. In a few days the American general opened a six-gun battery within about seven hundred yards of the walls; but his artillery was too light to make a breach, and he could do nothing more than amuse the enemy, and conceal his real purpose. After continuing a siege nearly a month, he resolved on a desperate attempt to carry the place by escalade. To distract the garrison, two feigned attacks were made on the upper town by two divisions of the army under majors Brown and Livingston, while two real attacks on opposite sides of the lower town were made by two other divisions under Montgomery and Arnold. Early in the morning of the last day in the year, the signal was given, and the several divisions moved to the assault in the midst of a heavy fall of snow, which covered the assailants from the sight of the enemy. Montgomery, at the head of the New York troops, advanced along theSt.Lawrence, by Aunce de Mere, under cape Diamond.The first barrier to be surmounted on that side was defended by a battery, in which were mounted a few pieces of artillery, in front of which were a blockhouse and picket. The guard at the blockhouse, after giving a random fire, threw away their arms and fled to the barrier, and for a time the battery itself was deserted. Enormous piles of ice impeded the progress of the Americans, who, pressing forward in a narrow defile, reached at length the blockhouse and picket. Montgomery, who was in front, assisted in cutting down or pulling up the pickets, and advanced boldly and rapidly at the head of about two hundred men, to force the barrier. By this time one or two persons had ventured to return to the battery, and, seizing a slow match, discharged one of the guns. Casual as this fire appeared, it was fatal to general Montgomery and to two valuable young officers near his person, who, together with his orderly sergeant and a private, were killed on the spot. Colonel Campbell, on whom the command devolved, precipitately retired with the remainder of the division.In the mean time, colonel Arnold, at the head of about three hundred and fifty men, made a desperate attack on the opposite side. Advancing with the utmost intrepidity along theSt.Charles, through a narrow path, exposed to an incessant fire of grape-shot and musketry, as he approached the first barrier at the Saut des Matelots, he received a musket ball in the leg, which shattered the bone, and he was carried off to the camp. Captain Morgan, who commanded a company of Virginia riflemen, rushed forward to the batteries at their head, and received a discharge of grape-shot, which killed one man only. A few rifles were immediately fired into the embrasures, and the barricade was mounted; the battery was instantly deserted, but the captain of the guard, with the greater part of his men, fell into the hands of the Americans. Morgan formed his men, but from the darkness of the night and total ignorance of the situation of the town, it was judged unadvisable to proceed. He was soon joined by lieutenant-colonel Green and majors Bigelow and Meigs, with several fragments of companies, amounting collectively to about two hundred men. At daylight this gallant party was again formed; but after a bloody and desperate engagement, in which they sustained the force of the whole garrison three hours,they were compelled to surrender themselves prisoners ofwar.111After this brave but disastrous assault, the commander of the Americantroops did not muster more than four hundred effective men: in the hope, however, of receiving reinforcements, they maintained a position at a short distance from Quebec; and, although the garrison was very superior in numbers, the bravery the colonists had evinced, and the mixed character of his own troops, disinclined general Carleton from leaving his ramparts to attack the Americans.In the end of May and beginning of June, generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, with reinforcements from Britain, arrived at Boston. The British general, in common with his troops, resolved on active operations; but every movement which they made was watched with an attentive eye by zealous Americans in Boston, who found means to penetrate every design before it was carried into execution, and to transmit secret intelligence to the American head-quarters. About the middle of June, it was suspected that general Gage intended to cross the river Charles, on the north side of Boston, and take possession of Breed’s or Bunker’s hill, in the vicinity of Charlestown.On the night of the16thof June, upwards of one thousand Americans, under colonel William Prescot, were ordered to proceed to this eminence, and to intrench themselves upon it. The movement was not without difficulty and danger; for British vessels of war were lying both in the Medford and Charles, on each side of the narrow peninsula. But the provincials marched to the place in profound silence; and, about midnight, began their operations. They labored with such assiduity, that before the dawn of day they had thrown up a breastwork, nearly across the peninsula, and constructed a small redoubt on their right.About four in the morning of the17thof June, the American works were observed by the captain of the Lively sloop of war, lying in the river Charles, who instantly began a heavy fire upon them, and was soon joined by the other ships, and by the battery on Copp’s hill at Boston. The Americans steadily continued their labors under a furious cannonade and an incessant shower of balls and bombs; but so harmless was this fearful noise that they lost only one man in the course of the morning. As in this post the Americans overlooked Boston, it was necessary to dislodge them; and, for this purpose, soon after mid-day, a detachment of British troops, under the command of generals Howe and Pigot, crossed the river in boats, and landed near the point of the peninsula; but, on observing the formidable position of the Americans, they waited for a reinforcement, which soon arrived. Meanwhile the steeples and the roofs of the houses in Boston, the eminences in the adjacent country, and the ships in the rivers, were crowded with anxious spectators, agitated by different hopes and fears according to their different attachments and interests. The main body of the American army encamped beyond Charlestown neck were looking on; and generals Clinton and Burgoyne, and other British officers of high rank, took their station in the battery on Copp’s hill to view the approaching conflict.While general Howe waited for this reinforcement, the Americans received an accession of strength, under generals Warren and Pomeroy, who crossed Charlestown neck under a brisk cannonade from the shipping in the rivers, to join their countrymen and take part in the battle. By their arrival the provincial force was increased to fifteen hundred at least. The Americans also took advantage of general Howe’s halt to strengthenpart of their position, by pulling down some rail-fences, forming the stakes into two parallel lines at a short distance from each other, and filling the interval with hay.The British detachment, consisting of upwards of two thousand men, advanced towards the American line. The light infantry, commanded by general Howe, was on the right; the grenadiers, under general Pigot, on the left. They began the attack by a brisk cannonade from some field-pieces and howitzers, the troops proceeding slowly, and sometimes halting, to give time to the artillery to produce some effect. On advancing, the left set fire to Charlestown, a thriving town, containing about three hundred wooden houses, besides other buildings, and entirely consumed it. The rising flames added not a little to the grandeur and solemnity of the scene.Secure behind their intrenchments, the Americans reserved their fire, and silently waited the approach of the British, till within fifty or sixty yards, when they poured upon them an incessant and well directed discharge of musketry. The British returned the fire for some time, without attempting to advance; but the discharge from the American line was so close and so destructive, that the troops at length gave way, and fell back towards the landing place. By the vigorous exertions of their officers, however, they were again brought to the charge; and the Americans, again reserving their fire till the troops were very near, directed it against them with the same deadly aim as before. Many fell: at one time, general Howe, for a few seconds, was left alone, every officer and soldier near him having been killed or wounded. The troops gave way a second time; but at that critical moment Sir Henry Clinton arrived from Boston, and was very active in leading them back to a third and more successful attack, in which they entered the American lines with fixed bayonets. The colonists had nearly exhausted their powder, and hence their fire had slackened. Being mostly armed with old rusty muskets, and ill provided with bayonets, they were unprepared for a close encounter. They therefore retreated; and, in passing Charlestown neck, were exposed to the fireof the Glasgow sloop of war, and two floating batteries, from which they sustained their greatest loss.
This seems, from the evidence on the trials and the observation of persons present, to have been the course of the material facts. Three men were killed, two mortally wounded, who died soon after, and several slightly wounded. The soldiers immediately withdrew to the main guard, which was strengthened by additional companies. Two or three of the persons who had seen the action ran to the lieutenant-governor’s house, which was about half a mile distant, and begged he would go to King street, where they feared a general action would come on between the troops and the inhabitants. He went immediately, and, to satisfy the people, called for captain Preston, and inquired why he had fired upon the inhabitants without the direction of a civil magistrate. The noise was so great that his answer could not be understood; and some persons, who were apprehensive of the lieutenant-governor’s danger from the general confusion, called out, ‘The town-house, the town-house!’ when, with irresistible violence, he was forced up by the crowd into the council chamber.
There demand was immediately made of him, to order the troops to withdraw from the town-house to their barracks. He refused; but calling from the balcony to the great body of people who remained in the street, he expressed his great concern at the unhappy event; assured them he would do every thing in his power to obtain a full and impartial inquiry, that the law might have its course; and advised them to go peaceably to their homes. Upon this there was a cry—‘Home, home!’ and a great part separated, and went home. He then signified his opinion to lieutenant-colonel Carr, that if the companies in arms were ordered to their barracks, the streets would be cleared and the town in quiet for that night. Upon their retiring, the rest of the inhabitants, except those in the council chamber, retired also.
Lieutenant-colonel Dalrymple, at the desire of the lieutenant-governor, came to the council chamber, while several justices were examining persons who were present at the transactions of the evening. From the evidence it was apparent that the justices would commit captain Preston, if taken. Several hours passed before he could be found, and the people suspected that he would not run the hazard of a trial; but at length he surrendered himself to a warrant for apprehending him, and, having been examined, was committed to prison. The next morning the soldiers who were upon guard surrendered also, and were committed. This was not sufficient to satisfy the people, and early in the forenoon they were in motion again. The lieutenant-governor caused his council to be summoned, and desired the two lieutenant-colonels of the regiments to be present. The selectmen of Boston were waiting the lieutenant-governor’s coming to council, and, being admitted, made their representation, that, from the contentions arising from the troops quartered in Boston, and, above all, from the tragedy of the last night, the minds of the inhabitants were exceedingly disturbed; that they would presently be assembled in a town meeting; and that, unless the troops should be removed, the most terrible consequences were to be expected.
The justices also of Boston and several of the neighboring towns had assembled, and desired to signify their opinion, that it would not be possible to keep the people under restraint, if the troops remained in town. The lieutenant-governor acquainted both the selectmen and the justices,that he had no authority to alter the place of destination of the king’s troops; but that he expected the commanding officers of the two regiments, and would let them know the applications which had been made. Presently after their coming, a large committee from the town meeting presented an address to the lieutenant-governor, declaring it to be the unanimous opinion of the meeting that nothing could rationally be expected to restore the peace of the town, ‘and prevent blood and carnage,’ but the immediate removal of the troops. The committee withdrew into another room to wait for an answer. Some of the council urged the necessity of complying with the people’s demand; but the lieutenant-governor declared that he would, upon no consideration whatever, give orders for their removal. Lieutenant-colonel Dalrymple then signified, that, as the twenty-ninth regiment had originally been designed to be placed at the castle, and was now peculiarly obnoxious to the town, he was content that it should be removed to the castle, until the general’s pleasure should be known. The committee was informed of this offer, and the lieutenant-governor rose from council, intending to receive no further application upon the subject; but the council prayed that he would meet them again in the afternoon, and colonel Dalrymple desiring it also, he complied.
Before the council met again, it had been intimated to them that the ‘desire’ of the governor and council to the commanding officer to remove the troops, would cause him to do it, though he should receive no authoritative ‘order.’ As soon as they met, a committee from the town meeting attended with a second message, to acquaint the lieutenant-governor that it was the unanimous voice of the people assembled, consisting, as they said, of near three thousand persons, that nothing less than a total and immediate removal of the troops would satisfy them. Ultimately the scruples of the lieutenant-governor were overcome, and he expressed his desire that the troops should be wholly withdrawn from the town to the castle, which was accordingly done. The funeral of the victims was attended with extraordinary pomp. Most of the shops were closed, all the bells of the town tolled on the occasion, and the corpses were followed to the grave by an immense concourse of people arranged six abreast, the procession being closed by a long train of carriages belonging to the principal gentry of the town. Captain Preston and the party of soldiers were afterwards tried. The captain and six of the men were acquitted, and two were brought in guilty of manslaughter; a result which reflected great honor on John Adams and Josiah Quincy, the council for the prisoners, and on the jury.
During the year 1771, nothing of moment occurred either in Boston or the colonies. The encouragement given by the agreement of the merchants to smuggling, occasioned continual contests with revenue officers; and it appears that the magistrates, when appealed to, refused to interfere. One circumstance, however, transpired, which must not be omitted. Early in this year,Mr.Hutchinson received his appointment to the office of governor of Massachusetts, an office which his political opponents allege to have always been the darling object of his ambition; while he maintains, that, however in ordinary times he might have desired it, he now ‘determined, not only to desire to be excused from the honor intended for him, but to be superseded in his place of lieutenant-governor; and he wrote to the secretary of state accordingly.’
The occurrences of the year 1772, afforded new sources of mutual animosity. The destruction of his majesty’s revenue schooner Gaspee, was one of those popular excesses which highly incensed the British ministry. Lieutenant Doddington, who commanded that vessel, had become very obnoxious to the inhabitants of Rhode Island, by his extraordinary zeal in the execution of the revenue laws. On the9thof June, the Providence packet was sailing into the harbor of Newport, and lieutenant Doddington thought proper to require the captain to lower his colors. This the captain of the packet deemed repugnant to his patriotic feelings, and the Gaspee fired at the packet to bring her to: the American, however, still persisted in holding on her course, and by keeping in shoal water, dexterously contrived to run the schooner aground in the chase.
As the tide was upon the ebb, the Gaspee was set fast for the night, and afforded a tempting opportunity for retaliation; and a number of fishermen, aided and encouraged by some of the most respectable inhabitants of Providence, being determined to rid themselves of so uncivil an inspector, in the middle of the night manned several boats, and boarded the Gaspee. The lieutenant was wounded in the affray; but, with every thing belonging to him, he was carefully conveyed on shore, as were all his crew. The vessel, with her stores, was then burnt; and the party returned unmolested to their homes. When the governor became acquainted with this event, he offered a reward of five hundred pounds for the discovery of the offenders, and the royal pardon to those who would confess their guilt. Commissioners were appointed also to investigate the offence, and bring the perpetrators to justice; but, after remaining some time in session, they reported that they could obtain no evidence, and thus the affair terminated; a circumstance which forcibly illustrates the inviolable brotherhood which then united the people against the government.
Active resistance to the measures of the British government in relation to the colonies, had for some time been principally confined to Massachusetts. The other colonists, however, had not been idle or indifferent spectators of the scenes that had passed in Massachusetts. To remain long in their present state seemed impossible; and in the event of an opposition by force, unity of action, as well as of sentiment, was all important. To promote this object, the house of burgesses in Virginia originated what ultimately proved a powerful engine of resistance—a committee for corresponding with the legislatures of the several colonies; and by this means a confidential communication and interchange of opinions was kept up between them.
The British government determined to carry the duty on tea into effect, and the East India company were authorized to export their tea free of duties to all places whatever; by which means it could be furnished more cheaply in America than before it had been made a source of revenue.
Confident of finding a market at their reduced prices, the company freighted several ships with that article, and appointed agents for the disposal of it. Cargoes were sent to New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and Boston. The inhabitants of the two former cities sent the ships back to London; and in the latter the tea was unloaded and stored in cellars, where it finally perished.
At Boston, before the vessels arrived with it, a town meeting was called to devise measures to prevent the landing and sale within the province.The agreement not to use tea while a duty was imposed was now solemnly renewed; and a committee was chosen to request the consignees of the East India company neither to sell nor unlade the tea which should be brought into the harbor. They communicated the wishes of the town to the merchants, who were to have the custody and sale of the tea; but they declined making any such promise, as they had received no orders or directions on the subject. On the arrival of the vessels with the tea in the harbor of Boston, another meeting of the citizens was immediately called. ‘The hour of destruction,’ it was said, ‘or of manly opposition, had now come;’ and all who were friends to the country were invited to attend, ‘to make an united and successful resistance to this last and worst measure of the administration.’ A great number of the people assembled from the adjoining towns, as well as from the capital, in the celebrated Faneuil hall, the usual place of meeting on such occasions, but the meeting was soon adjourned to one of the largest churches in the town. Here it was voted, as it had been at a meeting before the tea arrived, that they would use all lawful means to prevent its being landed, and to have it returned immediately to England.
After several days spent in negotiations, the consignees still refused to return the tea, and, fearing the vengeance of an injured people, they retired to the castle. The owner of the ship which brought the tea was unable to obtain a pass for her sailing, as the officer was in the interest of the British ministers. Application was then made to the governor, to order that a pass be given for the vessel; but he declined interfering in the affair. When it was found no satisfactory arrangement could be effected, the meeting broke up; but, late in the evening, a number of men, disguised as Mohawk Indians, proceeded to the vessels, then lying at the wharf, which had the tea on board, and in a short time every chest was taken out, and the contents thrown into the sea; but no injury was done to any other part of their cargoes. The inhabitants of the town, generally, had no knowledge of the event until the next day. It is supposed, the number of those concerned in the affair was about fifty; but who they were has been only a matter of conjecture to the present day.
PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION.
The British ministry appear to have been highly gratified that the town of Boston, which they ever regarded as the focus of sedition in America, had rendered itself, by the violent destruction of the property of the East India company, obnoxious to their severest vengeance. On the7thof March lord North presented a message from his majesty to both houses of parliament, commenting on the outrageous proceedings at the town and port of Boston. In a few days a bill was introduced ‘for the immediate removal of the officers concerned in the collection of customs from Boston, and to discontinue the landing and discharging, lading and shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise, at Boston, or within the harbor thereof.’ The bill also levied a fine upon the town, as a compensation to the East India company for the destruction of their teas, and was to continue in force during the pleasure of the king. The opposition to this measure was very slight, and it was finally carried in both houses without a division.
This, however, was only a part of lord North’s scheme of coercion. He proposed two other bills, which were intended to strike terror into the province of Massachusetts, and to deter the other colonies from following her example. By one of these, the constitution and charter of the province were completely subverted, all power taken out of the hands of the people, and placed in those of the servants of the crown. The third scheme of lord North was the introduction of ‘a bill for the impartial administration of justice in Massachusetts.’ By this act, persons informed against or indicted for any act done for the support of the laws of the revenue, or for the suppression of riots in Massachusetts, might by the governor, with the advice of the council, be sent for trial to any other colony, or to Great Britain; an enactment which, in effect, conferred impunity on the officers of the crown, however odious might be their violations of the law.
These plans of the administration were opposed by Burke, lord Chatham, Barré, and others, in language of the highest indignation. They originated in mistaken views of the opinion and temper of the people. The government, too, maintained that any measures were justifiable for supporting the authority of the king and parliament, and calculated on bringing the refractory and disaffected to submission by severity and force.
As a measure indicative of a determination to conduct the proceedings against the refractory colonists with the utmost vigor, general Gage was appointed, with powers of the most unlimited extent, to supersede governor Hutchinson. The offices of governor of the province of Massachusetts and commander of his majesty’s forces in America were united in his person. The intelligence of the passing of the Boston port bill had preceded general Gage a few days. On the day after his arrival, the general court having been dissolved by the late governor, a town meeting was convened and very numerously attended. They declared and resolved, ‘that the impolicy, injustice, inhumanity, and cruelty of the act, exceed all their powers of expression; and therefore,’ they say, ‘we leave it to the censure of others, and appeal to God and the world.’ They also declared it as their opinion, that, ‘if the other colonies come into a joint resolution to stop all importation from, and exportation to, Great Britain, and every part of the West Indies, till the act be repealed, the same would prove the salvation of North America and her liberties.’
The idea was probably entertained by the British ministry, that the other colonies would be inclined rather to avail themselves of the commercial advantages which the closing of one of the chief sea-ports would open to them, than to make common cause with Boston, at the hazard of incurring a similar penalty. In this instance, as in most others, the government made a great miscalculation of American character. The several colonies lost no time in expressing the deepest sympathy for the sufferings of the inhabitants of Boston, and in contributing to their pecuniary necessities, as well as in affording them moral countenance. In this patriotic course Virginia took the lead.
The convention of Virginia recommended to the committee of correspondence, that they should communicate with their several corresponding committees, on the expediency of appointing deputies from the several colonies of British America, to meet in general congress at such place annually as might be deemed most convenient; there to deliberate onthose general measures which the united interests of America might from time to time require.
Similar expressions of determined opposition to the port bill, and assurances of support to the disfranchised citizens of Boston, were made wherever the act became known. In some places it was printed upon mourning paper, and hawked about the streets; in others it was publicly burned, with every demonstration of abhorrence. At New York there was a considerable struggle between the friends of administration and the friends of liberty, but the latter at length prevailed, by the influence and management of two individuals, who had on several occasions manifested great activity and zeal in their opposition to the obnoxious measures of the ministry. Addresses were also sent from Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, and some other provinces, to the committee of Boston, assuring them of support, and declaring that they considered the cause of Boston as the common cause of the country.
The two last of the coercive enactments of the British legislature did not reach Boston till July. By one, the governor alone was authorized to appoint all civil officers; and by the other, the counsellors were to be selected by the king and his ministers in England. A list of those appointed was soon made known, and gave great dissatisfaction, as they were the most unpopular characters in the province. To add to the anxiety which now pervaded every breast, a large military force was ordered into the province, an act of parliament having been passed, which directed the governor to provide quarters for them in any town he might choose.
It had been agreed by the delegates which had now been appointed by most of the colonies, that they should meet in general congress in September; and the desire to await the result of its determinations prevented any violent proceedings during the interim; while, however, great attention was given by the inhabitants to military discipline. Independent companies were formed, who elected their own officers, many of whom had served during the French war, and were well able to instruct their pupils in military tactics. On the other hand, general Gage was no less active in adopting measures calculated, in his estimation, to overawe the inhabitants, and to deter them from having recourse to force. With this view, although ostensibly for the purpose of preventing desertion, he fortified the isthmus which connects Boston with the main land, called Boston neck, the only entrance by land into the town of Boston, and therefore the only route by which, according to the port bill, the merchants and traders could carry on their business. This measure, however, served only the more to exasperate the people, and the subsequent seizure of the gunpowder at Charlestown added to their alarm.
Before daybreak, on the1stof September, general Gage despatched a party of soldiers to bring into his own custody a quantity of provincial powder from the arsenal at Charlestown. Immediately this transaction became generally known, the inhabitants of the neighboring towns flew to arms, and agreed on Cambridge as a general rendezvous; and it was with great difficulty that they were dissuaded, by their more prudent leaders, from marching at once to Boston to require the restoration of the powder, or, in case of refusal, to attack the garrison.
It was under the excitement of these circumstances that, in defiance of the act of parliament, and the governor’s proclamation founded upon itprohibiting public assemblies, the county of Suffolk, of which Boston was the capital, elected delegates to meet for the purpose of taking into consideration the most proper course to be adopted in the present state of affairs. With a boldness and decision surpassing that of any former assembly, they passed resolutions declaring themselves constitutionally exempt from all obedience to the late measures of the British parliament, that the government of the province was in fact dissolved, and that they should consider all persons who dared to act in any official capacity under the new regulations as open enemies of their country. They sent a copy of their resolutions, and of their letter to the governor, with his answer, to the general congress, upon whose judgment they rested the decision of their future conduct.
This congress, which will ever be celebrated in the page of history, and held sacred in the annals of liberty, met at Philadelphia, on the5thof September. Representatives from eleven of the colonies were present at the opening, and those from North Carolina arrived shortly after; Georgia alone having demurred to send delegates. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was elected president, and Charles Thompson, of Philadelphia, secretary; and after a brief controversy on the mode of voting, which resulted in the determination that each province should have only one vote, whatever number of delegates might be present, the assembly proceeded to business with all the solemnity of an organized legislature.
‘The most eminent men of the various colonies were now, for the first time, brought together. They were known to each other by fame, but they were personally strangers. The meeting was awfully solemn. The object which had called them together was of incalculable magnitude. The liberties of no less than three millions of people, with that of all their posterity, were staked on the wisdom and energy of their councils. No wonder, then, at the long and deep silence which is said to have followed upon their organization; at the anxiety with which the members looked round upon each other, and the reluctance which every individual felt to open a business so fearfully momentous. In the midst of this deep and death-like silence, and just when it was beginning to become painfully embarrassing,Mr.Henry arose slowly, as if borne down by the weight of the subject. After faltering, according to his habit, through a most impressive exordium, in which he merely echoed back the consciousness of every other heart, in deploring his inability to do justice to the occasion, he launched gradually into a recital of the colonial wrongs. Rising, as he advanced, with the grandeur of his subject, and glowing at length with all the majesty of the occasion,his speech seemed more than that of mortalman.’109Mr.Henry was followed byMr.Richard Henry Lee, in a speech scarcely less powerful, and still more replete with classic eloquence. One spirit of ardent love of liberty pervaded every breast, and produced a unanimity as advantageous to the cause they advocated, as it was unexpected and appalling to their adversaries.
One of the first acts of this assembly was the appointment of a committee, consisting of two from each colony, to state the rights of the colonists in general, the several instances in which those rights had been violated, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration ofthem. The congress proceeded with great deliberation; its debates were held with closed doors, and it was not till the14thof October that they published a series of resolutions, embodying in spirited language their opinions on the chief subjects of difference between the colonies and the mother country. An agreement was also signed by all the members to abstain from commercial intercourse with Great Britain.
Upon the principles and in the spirit of the preceding resolutions, was composed an address to the people of Great Britain, as also one to the king; a statement to the aggrieved colonies, and an address to the inhabitants of Canada. These documents were drawn up with great ability. The gentlemen selected from the several colonies for this memorable congress were no less distinguished for their talents than their patriotism; and when perusing these state papers, no one can fail to regret that the speeches delivered on that occasion by such distinguished statesmen and orators as John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Dickinson, Samuel Chase, John Rutledge, and many others of that illustrious band of patriots, are lost to the world.
During the session of the congress most of the colonies had adopted the plan of instituting provincial assemblies, regardless of their old form of government. In Massachusetts, general Gage had convoked a general court, to assemble at Salem, on the5thof October; but events which subsequently transpired, induced him to issue a proclamation dissolving the assembly. The members, however, regarded that proclamation as illegal, and met at Salem on the day appointed. After waiting in vain the whole day for the governor’s appearance to administer the oaths, they resolved themselves into a provincial congress, and adjourned to Concord. After appointing John Hancock president, and addressing a communication to the governor, they again adjourned, to meet at Cambridge on the17th. Here they appointed a committee of safety, and a committee of supplies. They also voted to enlist one-fourth of the militia as minute men, to be frequently drilled, and held in readiness for service at a minute’s warning; and after appointing three general officers, they adjourned to the23dof November.
Before the close of the year the busy note of preparation resounded through almost every colony. The Massachusetts committees were indefatigable in providing for the most vigorous defence in the spring. They had procured all sorts of military supplies for the service of twelve thousand men, and had engaged the assistance of the three neighboring provinces of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
While these hostile preparations were proceeding in America, the British monarch was meeting a new parliament. The king informed his parliament, that a most daring resistance and disobedience to the law still prevailed in Massachusetts, and had broken out in fresh violences; that these proceedings had been countenanced and encouraged in the other colonies, and that unwarrantable attempts had been made to obstruct the commerce of the kingdom, by unlawful combinations; and he expressed his firm determination to withstand every attempt to weaken or impair the supreme authority of parliament over all the dominions of the crown. Addresses in answer to the speech, concurring in the sentiments expressed by the king, were carried in both houses, by large majorities.
After the recess, parliament met on the20thof January, and on thesame day lord Chatham moved, ‘That an humble address be presented to his majesty, most humbly to advise and beseech his majesty, that, in order to open the way towards our happy settlement of the dangerous troubles in America, by beginning to allay ferments and soften animosities there; and, above all, for preventing in the mean time any sudden and fatal catastrophe at Boston, now suffering under daily irritation of an army before their eyes, posted in their town; it may graciously please his majesty that immediate orders may be despatched to general Gage for removing his majesty’s forces from the town of Boston, as soon as the rigor of the season and other circumstances, indispensable to the safety and accommodation of the said troops, may render the same practicable.’ This motion was supported by one of the most eloquent and impressive speeches ever delivered by that distinguished statesman and orator.
Lord Chatham’s motion was seconded by lord Camden, who affirmed that ‘whenever oppression begins, resistance becomes lawful and right;’ and it was ably supported by the marquis of Rockingham and lord Shelburne; but, like all other motions opposed to the views of the ministry, it was lost by a large majority. The administration declared their determination never to relax in their measures of coercion, until America was forced into obedience. This, however, did not prevent lord Chatham from presenting to the house, soon afterwards, a bill, containing his favorite plan ‘for settling the troubles, and for asserting the supreme legislative authority and superintending power of Great Britain over the colonies.’ Though this bill, as it contained a direct avowal of the supreme authority of parliament over the colonies, in all cases except that of taxation, could never have received the assent of the Americans, yet, as it expressly denied the parliamentary power of taxing the colonies, without the consent of their assemblies, and made other concessions,it was rejected by a large majority on its firstreading.110
On the20thof February, lord North astonished both his friends and opponents, by introducing into the house of commons a proposition of a conciliatory nature. This was at first opposed from all quarters, but those who usually acted with the minister were finally persuaded to join him in this measure. But it did not preventMr.Burke andMr.Hartley from presenting to the house their respective plans of reconciliation. They were of course rejected by the ministerial majority.
While most of the colonies afforded sufficient occupation for the watchfulness of the British government, those of New England called forth the most vigorous efforts of the royalists, both by sea and land. The naval forces were frequently engaged in destroying armed American vessels, congress having fitted out several, which were very successful in capturing store ships sent with supplies of provisions and ammunition for the royal army. At Gloucester, the Falcon sloop of war, having chased an American vessel into the harbor, despatched three boats, with about forty men, to bring her off, when the party were so warmly received by the militia who had collected on the shore, that the captain thought it necessary to send a reinforcement, and to commence cannonading the town. A very smart action ensued, which was kept up for several hours, but resulted in the complete defeat of the assailants, leaving upwards of thirty prisoners in the hands of the Americans. This repulse excited the British to deeds of revenge upon several of the defenceless towns on the coast, and to declare that many of them should be reduced to ashes, unless the inhabitants consented to an unconditional compliance with all their demands.
Another occurrence also tended to mutual exasperation. In compliance with a resolution of the provincial congress to prevent tories from conveying out their effects, the inhabitants of Falmouth, in the north-eastern part of Massachusetts, had obstructed the loading of a mast ship. The destruction of the town was therefore determined on, as an example of vindictive punishment. Captain Mowat, detached for that purpose with armed vessels by admiral Greaves, arrived off the place on the evening of the17thof October, and gave notice to the inhabitants that he would allow them two hours ‘to remove the human species.’ The next day, captain Mowat commenced a furious cannonade and bombardment; and a great number of people, standing on the heights, were spectators of the conflagration, which reduced many of them to penury and despair. More than four hundred houses and stores were burnt. Newport, Rhode Island, being threatened with a similar attack, was compelled to stipulate for a weekly supply to avert it.
Warlike operations were not confined to the sea-ports. Their success in the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point stimulated the Americans to more extensive operations in the north; and the movements of Sir G. Carleton, the governor of Canada, appeared to call for them, congress having reason to believe that a formidable invasion was intended from that quarter. The management of military affairs in this department had been committed to the generals Schuyler and Montgomery. On the10thof September, about one thousand American troops effected a landing atSt.John’s, the first British port in Canada, lying one hundred and fifteen miles only to the northward of Ticonderoga, but found it advisable to retreat to Isle aux Noix, twelve miles south ofSt.John’s. An extremely bad stateof health soon after inducing general Schuyler to retire to Ticonderoga, the command devolved on general Montgomery. That enterprising officer in a few days returned to the vicinity ofSt.John’s, and opened a battery against it; and the reduction of fort Chamblee, by a small detachment, giving him possession of six tons of gunpowder, enabled him to prosecute the siege ofSt.John’s with vigor. General Carleton advanced against him with about eight hundred men; but, in attempting to cross theSt.Lawrence, with the intention of landing at Langueil, he was attacked by colonel Warner, at the head of three hundred Green Mountain boys, and compelled to retire with precipitancy. This repulse induced the garrison ofSt.John’s to surrender, on honorable terms of capitulation.
While Montgomery was prosecuting the siege ofSt.John’s, colonel Ethan Allen, who had been despatched on a service necessary to that object, hearing that Montreal was in a defenceless state, attempted its capture without the knowledge of his superior in command; he was, however, with a part of his detachment, taken prisoner, and, to the disgrace of general Carleton, loaded with irons, and in that state sent to England. After the capture ofSt.John’s, Montgomery directed his attention to Montreal, with different success. On his approach, the few British troops there repaired on board the shipping, in hopes of escaping down the river; but general Prescot, and several officers, with about one hundred and twenty privates, were intercepted, and made prisoners on capitulation; eleven sail of vessels, with all their contents, fell into the hands of the provincials. Governor Carleton was secretly conveyed away in a boat with muffled paddles, and arrived safely at Quebec. General Montgomery, leaving some troops in Montreal, and sending detachments into different parts of the province to encourage the Canadians and to forward provisions, advanced with his little army to Quebec, where he found, to his surprise, that a body of American troops had arrived before.
General Washington, foreseeing that the whole force of Canada would be concentrated about Montreal, had projected an expedition against Quebec in a different direction from that of Montgomery. His plan was to send out a detachment from his camp before Boston, to march by way of Kennebec river; and, passing through the dreary wilderness lying between the settled parts of the province of Maine and theSt.Lawrence, to penetrate into Canada about ninety miles below Montreal. This extraordinary and most arduous enterprise was committed to colonel Arnold, who, with one thousand one hundred men, consisting of New England infantry, some volunteers, a company of artillery, and three companies of riflemen, commenced his march on the13thof September. It is almost impossible to conceive the labor, hardships, and difficulties which this detachment had to encounter in their progress up the rapid stream of the Kennebec, frequently interrupted by falls, where they were obliged to land and carry the boats upon their shoulders, until they surmounted them, through a country wholly uninhabited, with a scanty supply of provisions, the season cold and rainy, and the men daily dropping down with fatigue, sickness and hunger.
Arnold was indefatigable in his endeavors to alleviate the distresses of his men, but to procure provisions for them was not in his power. They were at one time reduced to so great an extremity of hunger, that the dogs belonging to the army were killed and eaten, and many of the soldiers devouredtheir leather cartouch boxes. Arnold and his party at length arrived at Point Levi, opposite the town of Quebec: but in consequence of information the British had received, by the treachery of the Indian to whom Arnold had intrusted a letter to general Schuyler, the boats which he expected to find there to transport his troops across the river had been removed, and the enemy were no longer in a state to be surprised. Arnold, however, was not to be deterred from attempting something against the town; he calculated strongly upon the defection of the inhabitants: and having supplied himself with canoes, he crossed the river in the night, and gained possession of the heights of Abraham. Here, though he had no artillery, and scarcely half the number of men that composed the garrison of the town, he made a bold experiment to try the loyalty of the enemy’s troops, by sending a flag to summon them to surrender. But no message would be admitted, and Arnold found himself compelled to retire to more comfortable quarters, where he awaited the arrival of general Montgomery.
Voyage up the Kennebec.
Voyage up the Kennebec.
General Carleton, who, as we have already stated, had arrived at Quebec, had taken the best measures for its defence, and was prepared to receive him. In a few days the American general opened a six-gun battery within about seven hundred yards of the walls; but his artillery was too light to make a breach, and he could do nothing more than amuse the enemy, and conceal his real purpose. After continuing a siege nearly a month, he resolved on a desperate attempt to carry the place by escalade. To distract the garrison, two feigned attacks were made on the upper town by two divisions of the army under majors Brown and Livingston, while two real attacks on opposite sides of the lower town were made by two other divisions under Montgomery and Arnold. Early in the morning of the last day in the year, the signal was given, and the several divisions moved to the assault in the midst of a heavy fall of snow, which covered the assailants from the sight of the enemy. Montgomery, at the head of the New York troops, advanced along theSt.Lawrence, by Aunce de Mere, under cape Diamond.
The first barrier to be surmounted on that side was defended by a battery, in which were mounted a few pieces of artillery, in front of which were a blockhouse and picket. The guard at the blockhouse, after giving a random fire, threw away their arms and fled to the barrier, and for a time the battery itself was deserted. Enormous piles of ice impeded the progress of the Americans, who, pressing forward in a narrow defile, reached at length the blockhouse and picket. Montgomery, who was in front, assisted in cutting down or pulling up the pickets, and advanced boldly and rapidly at the head of about two hundred men, to force the barrier. By this time one or two persons had ventured to return to the battery, and, seizing a slow match, discharged one of the guns. Casual as this fire appeared, it was fatal to general Montgomery and to two valuable young officers near his person, who, together with his orderly sergeant and a private, were killed on the spot. Colonel Campbell, on whom the command devolved, precipitately retired with the remainder of the division.
In the mean time, colonel Arnold, at the head of about three hundred and fifty men, made a desperate attack on the opposite side. Advancing with the utmost intrepidity along theSt.Charles, through a narrow path, exposed to an incessant fire of grape-shot and musketry, as he approached the first barrier at the Saut des Matelots, he received a musket ball in the leg, which shattered the bone, and he was carried off to the camp. Captain Morgan, who commanded a company of Virginia riflemen, rushed forward to the batteries at their head, and received a discharge of grape-shot, which killed one man only. A few rifles were immediately fired into the embrasures, and the barricade was mounted; the battery was instantly deserted, but the captain of the guard, with the greater part of his men, fell into the hands of the Americans. Morgan formed his men, but from the darkness of the night and total ignorance of the situation of the town, it was judged unadvisable to proceed. He was soon joined by lieutenant-colonel Green and majors Bigelow and Meigs, with several fragments of companies, amounting collectively to about two hundred men. At daylight this gallant party was again formed; but after a bloody and desperate engagement, in which they sustained the force of the whole garrison three hours,they were compelled to surrender themselves prisoners ofwar.111
After this brave but disastrous assault, the commander of the Americantroops did not muster more than four hundred effective men: in the hope, however, of receiving reinforcements, they maintained a position at a short distance from Quebec; and, although the garrison was very superior in numbers, the bravery the colonists had evinced, and the mixed character of his own troops, disinclined general Carleton from leaving his ramparts to attack the Americans.
In the end of May and beginning of June, generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, with reinforcements from Britain, arrived at Boston. The British general, in common with his troops, resolved on active operations; but every movement which they made was watched with an attentive eye by zealous Americans in Boston, who found means to penetrate every design before it was carried into execution, and to transmit secret intelligence to the American head-quarters. About the middle of June, it was suspected that general Gage intended to cross the river Charles, on the north side of Boston, and take possession of Breed’s or Bunker’s hill, in the vicinity of Charlestown.
On the night of the16thof June, upwards of one thousand Americans, under colonel William Prescot, were ordered to proceed to this eminence, and to intrench themselves upon it. The movement was not without difficulty and danger; for British vessels of war were lying both in the Medford and Charles, on each side of the narrow peninsula. But the provincials marched to the place in profound silence; and, about midnight, began their operations. They labored with such assiduity, that before the dawn of day they had thrown up a breastwork, nearly across the peninsula, and constructed a small redoubt on their right.
About four in the morning of the17thof June, the American works were observed by the captain of the Lively sloop of war, lying in the river Charles, who instantly began a heavy fire upon them, and was soon joined by the other ships, and by the battery on Copp’s hill at Boston. The Americans steadily continued their labors under a furious cannonade and an incessant shower of balls and bombs; but so harmless was this fearful noise that they lost only one man in the course of the morning. As in this post the Americans overlooked Boston, it was necessary to dislodge them; and, for this purpose, soon after mid-day, a detachment of British troops, under the command of generals Howe and Pigot, crossed the river in boats, and landed near the point of the peninsula; but, on observing the formidable position of the Americans, they waited for a reinforcement, which soon arrived. Meanwhile the steeples and the roofs of the houses in Boston, the eminences in the adjacent country, and the ships in the rivers, were crowded with anxious spectators, agitated by different hopes and fears according to their different attachments and interests. The main body of the American army encamped beyond Charlestown neck were looking on; and generals Clinton and Burgoyne, and other British officers of high rank, took their station in the battery on Copp’s hill to view the approaching conflict.
While general Howe waited for this reinforcement, the Americans received an accession of strength, under generals Warren and Pomeroy, who crossed Charlestown neck under a brisk cannonade from the shipping in the rivers, to join their countrymen and take part in the battle. By their arrival the provincial force was increased to fifteen hundred at least. The Americans also took advantage of general Howe’s halt to strengthenpart of their position, by pulling down some rail-fences, forming the stakes into two parallel lines at a short distance from each other, and filling the interval with hay.
The British detachment, consisting of upwards of two thousand men, advanced towards the American line. The light infantry, commanded by general Howe, was on the right; the grenadiers, under general Pigot, on the left. They began the attack by a brisk cannonade from some field-pieces and howitzers, the troops proceeding slowly, and sometimes halting, to give time to the artillery to produce some effect. On advancing, the left set fire to Charlestown, a thriving town, containing about three hundred wooden houses, besides other buildings, and entirely consumed it. The rising flames added not a little to the grandeur and solemnity of the scene.
Secure behind their intrenchments, the Americans reserved their fire, and silently waited the approach of the British, till within fifty or sixty yards, when they poured upon them an incessant and well directed discharge of musketry. The British returned the fire for some time, without attempting to advance; but the discharge from the American line was so close and so destructive, that the troops at length gave way, and fell back towards the landing place. By the vigorous exertions of their officers, however, they were again brought to the charge; and the Americans, again reserving their fire till the troops were very near, directed it against them with the same deadly aim as before. Many fell: at one time, general Howe, for a few seconds, was left alone, every officer and soldier near him having been killed or wounded. The troops gave way a second time; but at that critical moment Sir Henry Clinton arrived from Boston, and was very active in leading them back to a third and more successful attack, in which they entered the American lines with fixed bayonets. The colonists had nearly exhausted their powder, and hence their fire had slackened. Being mostly armed with old rusty muskets, and ill provided with bayonets, they were unprepared for a close encounter. They therefore retreated; and, in passing Charlestown neck, were exposed to the fireof the Glasgow sloop of war, and two floating batteries, from which they sustained their greatest loss.