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We learn that in September before the meet- ing of the session of the Legislative body of the province which was to convene on the 20th of October 1762-which is the first of which the records have been preserved-its members met to consult together upon the impending misfortunes of their country, occasioned by the Stamp Act and other offensive and tyran- nous measures of the British Government.
Joy was universal in Delaware and the coun- try when the Stamp Act was repealed, and Read, Rodney, and McKean were appointed to frame an address of thanks and congratula- tion to the King. But soon the aggressions of the British ministry overthrew all expecta- tions of future safety, and the same gentlemen were appointed to the task of " dutifully re- monstrating" on behalf of the freemen of Dela- ware. Constant intercourse with Virginia, New York and New England was kept up by a committee on correspondence and communi- cation with the rest of the Colonies.
In 1774, a large number of delegates assem- bled at New Castle on the first of August, and appointed delegates to a General Congress to be held in Philadelphia on the first Monday of September in that year; to consider the rights of the colonies and fix on the means for the redress of their grievances.
In the lower part of Delaware, were many disaffected to Congress, and opposed to the measures of their own Legislature. They were beginning to be known as royalists and took no part in favor of, but in fact were hostile to the active exertions made to obtain a redress of grievances. Military companies were now raised to meet this exigency; and here began the . organization, and drill of the soldiers, who on many a hard fought field from Massa- chusetts to South Carolina wore the honors, which covered with fame the heroes of the Delaware Line. The thunders of the rising storm began now distinctly to be heard roll- ing through our sky. and a change of govern- ment was demanded by the patriots of this province. Rodney was at the head of the Military organization of the province, and Colonel Haslet and Major McDonough, father of the Commodore of that name, were taking possession of arms and ammunition; arrest- ing the ringleaders among the tories in the lower part of the State, and keeping them as
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
hostages for the better behavior of their | They refused to believe at that time that war dependents The following were elected dele- gates to the memorable congress of 1776, which met in Independence Hall, Philadel- phia, it being a Congress of the United Colo- nies, viz : George Reed, Cæsar Rodney and Thomas McKean.
The Congress of 1776 had met in Philadel- phia, and to give it moral support, Cæsar Rod- ney obtained leave of absence and went to the town of Lewes and succeeded in calming the excitement the tories had occasioned. He organized the troops and prepared the people for coming changes in the relations of the provinces to Great Britian. Engaged in this duty McKean's messenger from Philadel- . phia found him ; and Rodney's famous ride to Philadelphia occurred in order that the vote of our delegates might be unanimous for Inde- pendence. On the 4th of July 1776 the names of George Read, Cæsar Rodney and Thos. McKean were affixed as representatives from the Colony of Delaware to that Immortal Declaration. On the IIth day of September a convention of the freemen of the three counties published a Declaration of Rights, and on the 20th, a constitution of the "Dela- ware State," under a Governor or President of her own election, independent of all parties in Great Britain or America, was established. But as no one has told of the " time that tried men's souls," in a History of Delaware, we shall proceed more in extenso in the following chapters.
CHAPTER XVII.
Delegates to the Revolutionary Congress of 1775-" The Black Catalogue" of English op- pressions-Loyalty of the Colonies -Efforts for peace unavailing-Gage in Boston-At- taoks the Colonists-War inevitable-George Washington appointed Commander-in-chief- The Delaware Regiment-The first Naval en- gagement-Brave Boys-The British Frigates driven away -- Independence -- Delaware not ready-Torics-Efforts of Rodney and Mc Kean -Signing the Declaration-Delaware cstab- lishes an independent government.
N the 16th of March, 1775, the assem- bly at Dover elected Cæsar Rodney, George Read and Thomas Mckean their representatives to Congress, which was to meet the 10th of May, in Philadelphia.
was inevitable for the maintenance of their rights and liberties. But early in April the final acts of Parliament were received which completed "the black catalogue" of measures that had constituted the English plan of coer- cion. These measures consisted of thirty- nine distinct laws, or acts of Parliament, of the most odious and oppressive character, and were held by the colonists to be subversive of their natural rights as men, and of their char- tered rights as British subjects ; and that there- fore they were illegal and void. These acts revoked their charters ;* prohibited manu- factures ; commerce, except with England ; the printing of newspapers ; the establishment of banks ; the coining of money and emitting bills of credit ; the revenue acts ; the stamp acts ; restraining and starving acts ;+ Boston port acts ; acts for disfranchising legislatures, for quartering soldiers in private houses, for abolishing trial by jury in many cases, drag- ging men to England to he tried for capital offenses, prohibitory custom duties, taxation without representation, and the whole policy of arbitrary rule, which, during a long series of years, had resulted in establishing a " cumula- tive despotism" that Mr. Burke so justly des scribed as "a perfect uncompensated slavery, by joining together the restraints of an univer- sal internal and external monopoly, with an universal internal and external taxation."
Indeed, from 1635 to the Revolution, the King and Ministry of England, upheld by a majority of the Lords and Commons, had treated the American Colonies rather as the refractory inhabitants of a subjugated State than, as they truly were, a loyal and affection- ate portion of their own people. Their loyalty was attested by their long and patient endu- rance, by their efforts to secure redress through petitions and protests to the heart and consci- ence of their rulers who were their brethren and kindred in England, rather than by force. and by the alacrity with which the colonies had raised armies and money to defend our continent. against the French, which secured in 1763 all this vast and rich domain, not for them-
*"As early as 1635, Charles I. assailed that of Massachusetts; and Charles 11. repenting of his prodigal and heedless distribution of freedom, continued the warfare upon colonial liberties in general. All the charters of New Eng- land were vacated by James 11. whose plan it was to reduce the colonies un- der one arbitrary government." Walsh's Appeal, p. 45.
+ Walsh's Appeal, pp. 46 and 179.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
selves, but for their gracious sovereign of the ; ity in all the colonies, in the preparation for a house of Hanover. But all these efforts peace- long and determined struggle. The popula- tion of Delaware at that time was about 37,- 500. She was requested by congress to raise and equip a regiment for the Continental army. This regiment was raised two months before the Declaration of Independence, placed under the command of Colonel John Haslet, and most thoroughly drilled for active service in the field. It contained eight com- panies and eight hundred men. Gunning Bedford was the Lieutenant Colonel, and Dr. Thomas McDonough, (father of Commodore McDonough,) was its Major ; Joseph Stidham, Nathan Adams, Samuel Smith, Charles Pope, Jonathan Caldwell, Henry Darby, Joseph Vaughn and David Hall were the captains. ably to maintain their rights and liberties were unavailing. Gen. Thomas Gage, who had been appointed the royal governor of Massachusetts in 1763, and Commander in Chief of all the British forces in America, was a willing tool of the crown, and took a malig- nant pleasure in trying to enforce the acts of Parliament. He gradually gathered an army of several thousand men which he quartered in Boston, regardless of the protests of the people. His despotic military government, the insolence of his officers, and the outrages of the soldiery, became insuffer- able to a free people. Conflicts between the populace and the soldiers were frequent. Gage openly declared his purpose to subject the The first naval engagement of the Revolu- tion took place May 8th, 9th, and 10th, 1776, in Delaware waters. Two English frigates, the Roebuck and the Liverpool, came up the Delaware river, when they were impetuously attacked off the mouth of the Christiana by a number of long-boats or row-galleys, led by young Captain Houston. They were armed with muskets, and some small brass cannon, and by their intrepid courage and bravery, kept up for three days, compelled the frigates to retreat down the river. colony by force of arms. Early in 1775 the port of Boston was closed, and the city became a military camp. Hancock, Adams, Warren, Otis and other leading patriots had left the city, and were organizing an army throughout New England to resist their oppressors. All the colonies were united against their common enemy. On April 19th Gage sent a large force to destroy military stores at Concord. On the way there, at Lex- ington, a company of Militia was fired on and eight of them killed. This was the first blood- In the hottest of the fight, a row-boat came from the shore, manned with four boys, who placed themselves directly under the stern of the Liverpool and fired incessantly into her. The officer of marines, calling the. Captain's attention to the juvenile assailants, exclaimed, "Captain, do you see those young rebels ? Shall I fire upon them ?" "No, no," cried brave old Captain Billew, "don't hurt the boys ; let them break the cabin windows." shed in the Revolution. The British reached Concord about noon, found a few stores which they destroyed, and were driven back by the patriot militia with great loss. On the 25th of May Lord Howe arrived with a large naval and military reinforcement to supersede Gen. Gage. He led the English army in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17th. The war had now begun in earnest and the whole country sprang to arms.
At that time there were arrayed against the thirteen colonies a fleet of a hundred armed vessels, and an army of fifty-five thousand dis- ciplined soldiers, backed by all the resources of the British Empire.
On the 15th of June, 1775, two days before the battle of Bunker Hill. Congress made Geo. Washington Commander-in-Chief of all our armies. He immediately repaired to Cam- bridge opposite Boston,assumed command,and soon after, General Howe evacuated Boston and went to Halifax.
The following year was one of great activ- 8
The shore was lined with thousands of peo- ple who witnessed the battle, and applauded our brave men. In the heat of the engage- ment a militia major rode up at full speed, sprang from his horse, and persuaded two men to take him to the galley nearest the enemy, and as soon as he was on board, stationed him- self at a gun. The cartridge failed-cartridge paper was called for, but it was all expended. Instantly the gallant major pulled off his boots, filled them with powder and rammed them into the gun. He boasted afterward, that he had not only been in the battle but had fired his boots at the enemy.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
Active preparations were now made by the | be recommended to the respective assemblies Committee of Safety to provide means of de- and conventions of the colonies to adopt such government as shall, in their opinion, most conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular, and of America in general." fense for the whole coast of Delaware, and to replenish Lewistown with an abundance of powder and lead. The result of this battle in- duced a feeling of greater security, and as the war was thus brought home to the people of Delaware, they rallied to the standard of Inde- pendence.
The majority of the delegates to Congress which assembled in May, 1776, in Philadelphia, had been instructed by the colonies they rep- resented, to declare for a separate and indepen- dent government. But for this radical consti- tutional change a portion of the people of Delaware were not yet prepared. They were an eminently conservative people, largely de- voted to agriculture. Kent and Sussex partic- ularly, were situated outside of the great high- ways of travel; they were but slightly affected by the Parliamentary acts, and it required the most earnest labors of Rodney, McKean, Has- let, Bedford and other advanced patriots, to bring them up to the point of sustaining so summary a measure. But in this they were successful, and the legislature elected the first of June was Whig by a large majority.
The instructions of the Assembly on March 22d to her Congressional delegates were for re- dress with reconciliation, and,impliedly, against independence. On the 7th of June Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, introduced his cele- brated resolution, "that the United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independ- ent States : and that the political connec- tion between them and Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved."
This resolution was debated for several days, but as Mr. Jefferson says in his memoirs, "it appearing that New York, Pennsylvania, Del- ware and Maryland were not yet matured for falling from the parent stem, but were rapidly maturing to that state, it was thought prudent to wait awhile for them, and to postpone the final decision until July the first." The com- mittee was then appointed, of which Jefferson was chairman, to draft the Declaration of In- dependence.
Congress had already, on the 15th of May, resolved that as the colonies had been by act of Parliament excluded from the protection of the British crown, that all authority of the said crown should be suppressed, and "that it
At the close of the debate on Mr. Lee's resolution, Rodney at once started for Dover, and chiefly through his influence, says Col. Wm. G. Whiteley, in his "Soldiers of the Revo- lution," the General Assembly, then in Session, passed unanimously, on the 14th of June, 1776, new instructions to our deputies in Congress, authorizing them "to concur with the other delegates in Congress, in adopting such meas- ures as shall be judged necessary for promot- ing the liberty, the safety and interests of America, &c."
Under these instructions, the representa- tives were left free to exercise their own judg- ment. Rodney, as has been seen, was inde- fatigable in Delaware and among the members of that august body, working for the success of the measure. Of course he voted for Inde- pendence, and gladly signed the great instru- ment. McKean, able and earnest, had taken advance ground from the first. He had voted for the measure, but was with the "Flying Camp," in New Jersey, on the Fourth of July. He, however, soon returned, and affixed his name. Mr. Read was cautious and conserva- tive, in his judgment the people were not ready and the time had not yet come when this necessary step should be taken. Hence, he voted against the Declaration of Indepen- dence, but when it passed, he joined his col- leagues and signed the immortal document.
But Delaware went farther than to instruct her deputies on the 14th of June towards in- dependence. Mr. Mckean had presented to the assembly a certified copy of the resolutions of Congress, above referred to, when it was unanimously resolved that : "whereas, it has become absolutely necessary for the safety of the good people of this colony, forthwith to establish some authority adequate to the exi- gencies of their affairs, until a new Govern- ment can be formed ; and whereas, the Rep- resentatives of the people, in this Assembly met, alone can, and ought, at this time, to es- tablish such temporary authority," therefore, Resolved unanimously, That all persons holding any office, civil or military in this colony, on
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
the 13th of June, instant, may and shall continue to execute the same, in the name of the Government of the Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex upon Delaware, as they used to exercise them in the name of the King, until a new Government shall be formed. agreeably to the resolution of Congress of the 15th of May last." This was a Declaration of Independence and the establishment of a sep- arate Government by Delaware three weeks before Congress took the same action.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Great joy at Dover -- Public burning of the King's portrait-The reaction-Constitutional Convention-The Whigs defeated-Rodney and McKean removed from Congress-Read Presi- dent of the Convention-The New Constitution -Its provision and defects-McKinley elected first President of Delaware-The two Dela- ware regiments-The "Flying Camp"-Their battles and bravery-Col. Haslet killed- Hall's regiment organized for the War-It joins Washington-American affairs desperate -The British Army in Delaware-Battle of Cooch's Bridge-Battle of Brandywine-Wash- ington defeated-President Mckinley captured -Battle of Germantown.
N the same day that the Declaration of Independence was passed, Cæsar Rod- ney transmitted a copy of it to Dover where it was received with the greatest demonstrations of joy. The brave and noble Colonel Haslet, who was an intimate friend and compatriot of Rodney, wrote to him on the sixth inst., an enthusiastic letter, in which he says : "I congratulate you, sir, on the im- portant day which restores to every American his birthright ; a day which every freeman will record with gratitude and the millions of pos- erity read with rapture. Ensign Wilson arrived here last night ; a fine turtle feast at Dover anticipated and announced the declaration of Congress ; even the barrister himself laid aside his airs of reserve, mighty happy."
At the time Gen. Rodney's letter reached Dover, the election of officers of a new battal- ion was going on ; the committee of safety, however, immediately met, and after receiving the intelligence, proceeded in a body to the
court house, where (the election being stop- ped) the President read the Declaration of Congress, and the resolution of the Assembly for the appointment of a convention, each of which received the highest approbation of the people, in three cheers. The Committee then went in a body back to their room, where they sent for a picture of the king of Great Britain, and made the drummer of the infantry bear it before the president ; they then marched two and two, followed by the light infantry, with slow and solemn music, round the square, then forming a circle about a fire prepared in the middle of the square for the purpose, pronoun- ing the following words, committed it to the flames : "Compelled by strong necessity, thus we destroy even the shadow of that king who refused to reign over a free people." Three tremendous cheers were given by the great crowd present,and the friends of liberty gained new courage to support the cause in which they had embarked.
But the enthusiasm which greeted the Dec- laration was dampened by the reaction which soon followed. It shows the fickleness of public sentiment. A convention had been called to frame a new constitution and elect delegates to the succeeding Congress. It consisted of ten members from each county and met at New Castle, August 27th, 1776. In the election for this convention the Whigs were defeated. The leading Whigs were stal- wart and aggressive, and had incurred the bit- terest opposition of the Tories. These were joined by the weak and timid whose fears and prejudices had been excited, and by others of firmer Whig principles from motives of ambi- tion.
By this means, says Huffington, they con- trived to secure a majority of the Convention, and one of their first acts was to remove from Congress Gen. Rodney and Mr. McKean, two delegates who had, in every instance, shown themselves the uncompromising advocates of liberty. This action was received by the leading patriots of Delaware with great indig- nation, and serious apprehensions, not only for the State itself but for its influence on the pa- triot cause. Haslet writes from camp to Rod- ney on hearing this news, "I am not at all surprised at the Tory strategem to leave you out of the Convention ticket ; 'tis like the rest of their doings, dark, low, dirty, illiberal.
1
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
What a wretched struggle must they have had in Convention ; their prejudices drawing one way, and the influences of Congress another. I'm told they have done as little as possible, and modeled their new government as like the old as may be."
Mr. Read was president of this Convention and wrote the Constitution, which, with a few amendments, was adopted, September 20th, without submitting it to the people. By this Constitution the Legislature was made to con- sist of two houses, the Council and House of Assembly; the Chief Magistrate was called the President of Delaware and was elected each year by the Legislature, which body also elected the members of Congress. The courts consisted of fourteen judges.
The chief defects of that constitution were its provision for a cumbersome and expensive judiciary, the large appointing power conferrd on the President of the State, the immense authority given to the General Assembly and the few powers reserved to the people ; defects which, to a considerable extent, have marred all the constitutions of this State.
That convention, however, did much besides "ordain and declare the future form of Gov- ernment for the Delaware State." It took upon itself legislative, judicial and executive functions. It ordered the raising, equipping and marching of the quotas of militia required from the State by Congress ; appointing offi- cers and borrowing money for war expenses. Among other things, "they restored forty persons who had risen in insurrection in Sus- sex county, in June, 1776, to the favor of their country, upon profession of their penitence, and promise of future obedience to the As- sembly of Delaware and the continental Con- gress. "
Under this Constitution General John Mckinley was elected the first President of the State, and William Killen the first Chief Justice. General Mckinley, a prominent phy- sician of Wilmington, was, in 1775, made a Brigadier General and was active in raising the militia for service in the field.
The new constitution made Dover the capi- tal of the State, but as yet the State possessed no public buildings. Arrangements were made with the Levy Court of Kent county for the Legislature to hold its sessions in the Court- house. By some failure of the Assembly to
comply with certain terms and conditions agreed upon, the Sheriff. John Clayton, put- ting on his sword as the emblem of his authority, drove the Legislature from the building. That body then repaired to Smyrna, in which town its sessions were held ; but in what building authorities differ. Chief Justice Comegys says the Legislature sat in the large room of the brick hotel now known as the Mansion House; while Mrs Speakman the present owner of "Belmont Hall," says the family tradition is that Thomas Collins, then a member of the council, and afterward Governor of the State, invited that body to hold its sessions in his large and beautiful resi- dence "Belmont Hall," located half a mile south of Smyrna, and which is still standing and in a state of fine preservation as shown in the opposite engraving.
While the citizens of Delaware were thus engaged in organizing the Civil Government of the State, two regiments were bravely fighting her battles; the regiment of Colonel Haslet and the Flying Camp under Colonel Patterson. The regiment of Colonel John Haslet marched from Delaware the first of August and joined the army of General Washington at New York. On the 27th of that month they were in the battle of Long Island, and won deserved and lasting fame, fighting with the bravery and firmness of vet- eran soldiers. At the time of the battle,' Colonel Haslet and Lieut Colonel Bedford were on duty attending a Court Martial, much to their regret, and the regiment was com- manded by Major McDonough. It lost thirty- one'men. The Americans retreated to New York, and the regiment was next in the battle of White Plains, and in the battle of Trenton on Christmas day, 1776, in which our armies - gained a brilliant victory. On January 3rd, 1777, it took part in the battle of Princeton, in which Washington was victorious, and in which Colonel Haslet was killed while lead- ing a charge on the English lines. Lieut. Colonel Bedford had been appointed on Washington's staff. Major McDonough about this time resigned his commission and retired to private life. Several companies had per- emptorily left the regiment to join the battalion of Col. Hall, organizing for the war; some had deserted, many had fallen in battle, and as it was now reduced to less than one hundred
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