USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 8
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2 From à letter of President Han- cock to Governor Trumbull, Dec. 8, 1775, in Trumbull's MS. Letter Book B, 35, it appears that, from Novem- ber 19 to November 28, but 2540 men had enlisted, and 966 previously - in all, about 3500 men. See, also, same to same, Dec. 2, in ibid. 34, on enlisting soldiers for one year from Jan. 1, 1776. For a list of officers, Nov. 4, see N. E. Hist. Gen. Reg. for 1850, 67, 68.
70
PROSECUTION OF THE SIEGE.
CHAP. want of virtue ; such stockjobbing, and fertility in all the II. low arts, to obtain advantage on one hand or another, in this 1775. great change of military arrangement, I never saw before, and pray God I never may be witness to again." " Could I have foreseen," he adds, "what I have experienced, and am likely to experience, no consideration upon earth should have induced me to accept this command. A regiment, or any sub- ordinate department, would have been accompanied with ten times the satisfaction, and perhaps ten times the honor." 1
Undaunted, however, by even such discouragements, Wash- ington determined to continue the siege, and to bring it to a close, if possible, before the spring opened. For this purpose, Nov. 9. in November, after a skirmish had occurred at Lechmere's Nov.22. Point,2 ground was broken at Cobble or Miller's Hill by a detachment of about one thousand men under General Put- nam, and the intrenchments were completed by another de- tachment under General Heath, without receiving a shot from the enemy.3 Yet the situation of the Americans was " truly alarming," notwithstanding the works which had been thrown up for their defence, and others which were projected, and "occasionally manned in case of a sortie."4 The success of
1 Sparks's Washington, iii. 178, 179; Reed's Reed, i. 130, 131 ; Lord Mahon's Hist. Eng. vi. 81; Froth- ingham's Siege, 266, 267. The legis- lature of Massachusetts did all they could to encourage the citizens to join the army, and in an address, urging them to engage in the military ser- vice, said, " Happy will be the man who shall be able to boast that he was one of those who assisted in this arduous but noble work. In serenity he shall pass his future days ; and, when satisfied with life, he will have the proud satisfaction of bequeathing the inestimable patrimony to his grateful children." Bradford, ii. 52. 2 Gordon's Am. Rev. i. 415 ; Sparks's Washington, iii. 157; Froth- ingham's Siege, 267, 268. The at-
tack, in this instance, was made by the British.
3 Almon's Remembrancer, ii. 229; Heath's Mems. 30; Essex Gazette for 1775 ; Sparks's Washington, iii. 172, 175 ; Reed's Reed, i. 129, 131; Gordon's Am. Rev. i. 415; Frothing- ham's Siege, 268, 269.
4 Sparks's Washington, iii. 176; Reed's Reed, i. 129; Frothingham's Siege, 269. " I have caused," wrote Washington, " two half-moon batte- ries to be thrown up, for occasional use, between Lechmere's Point and the mouth of Cambridge River, and another at the causey going to Lechmere's Point, to command that pass and rake the little rivulet which runs by it to Patterson's Fort. Be- sides these, I have been and marked
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71
OPERATIONS IN DECEMBER.
their privateers gave some encouragement, especially the cap- CHAP. ture of the ordnance brig Nancy, laden with military stores,
1775. Nov.27
II. which " spread such universal joy through the camp, as if each grasped victory in his hand." " The huzzas on the occasion," it is added, " were heard, I dare say, through all the territo- ries of our most gracious sovereign in this province." 1
December came, at length ; but no disposition was evinced on the part of the British to forsake their quarters, or to attack the American camp. The weather was piercingly cold, and the snow had commenced falling, so that the movements of the Americans were prosecuted with difficulty. Washing- ton was unable to account for the silence of the enemy. Daily did he expect an attack, but no troops appeared. They re- mained quietly in their shelter, and contented themselves with looking on quite indifferently, while a causeway was con- structed over the marsh leading to Lechmere's Point, and a Dec. 12. covered way was carried from thence nearly to the top of Dec. 16. the adjacent hill. When, however, a detachment of three Dec. 17. hundred men was sent, under General Putnam, to break ground at the base of the hill, near the water, they were aroused for a moment, and began to cannonade the intruders with round and grape shot from the decks of a ship of war which lay near by, and from the battery at Barton's Point, mounted with twenty-four pounders and mortars. But this did not prevent the continuance of the work ; and, on the following day, Gen- Dec. 18. eral Heath was ordered to the spot, and in the afternoon Wash-
out three places between Sewell's Point and our lines on Roxbury Neck for works to be thrown up, and occasion- ally manned, in case of a sortie, when the bay gets froze."
1 History of the War in America, 167; Heath's Mems. 31; Thacher's Jour. 36 ; Gordon's Am. Rev. i. 416 ; Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 224 ; Sparks's Washington, iii. 182, 183; Reed's Reed, i. 132, 133; Marshall's Wash- ington, i. 258; Impartial Hist. of the
War, 290 ; Frothingham's Siege, 269, 270. Putnam was so overjoyed, on this occasion, that he hastily jumped upon the huge mortar which had been captured and mounted on its bed, and, with a bottle of rum in his hand, amidst the shouts of the assembled multitude, stood " parson to christen, while godfather Mifflin gave it the name of Congress." This mortar, however, was soon after split and ren- dered useless.
1
72
CONDITION OF THE ARMY AT THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR.
CHAP. ington and other general officers visited him, and encouraged II. him to persevere in his labors.1 The result was highly en- 1775. couraging ; for in a very short time two redoubts were thrown up, and a covered line of communication was built along the causeway quite up to the redoubts. The completion of these works gave to the Americans a commanding position ; and Colonel Moylan wrote, " Give us powder and authority, and Boston can be set in flames." 2
At the close of the year 1775, the American army is said to have numbered less than ten thousand men -so greatly had it been reduced by the departure of those whose term of enlistment had expired, and by the lukewarmness with which the business of recruiting was prosecuted.3 The letters of Washington are full of complaints on this subject; and, satis- fied that it was no time for trifling, and that the exigency of public affairs called aloud for vigorous exertions, he continued to urge upon the Assemblies of the New England colonies and the General Congress the necessity of adopting measures to facilitate the completion of the army.4 The troops from Con-
Thacher's Jour. 37; Heath's Mems. 32; Reed's Reed, i. 136; Newell's Jour. in 4 M. H. Coll. i. 270; Frothingham's Siege, 270, 271. 2 Heath's Memoirs, 34; Sparks's Washington, iii. 205, 213; Reed's Reed, i. 137; Frothingham's Siege, 271, 272. " If the rebels," wrote one of the British officers, " can complete the new battery which they are raising, this town will be on fire about our ears a few hours after - all our build- ings being of wood, or a mixture of brick and woodwork. Had the reb- els erected their battery on the other side of the town, at Dorchester, the admiral and all his booms would have made the first blaze, and the burning of the town would have followed. If we cannot destroy the rebel battery by our guns, we must march out and take it, sword in hand."
3 Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 259; Sparks's Washington, iii. 214, 220,
239. " Our returns of enlistments to this day," wrote Washington, Dec. 25, 1775, " amount to 8500 men." On the 31st, he wrote, " Our enlistments now amount to 9650 men ; " and on the 14th Jan. 1776, " Our total num- ber upon paper amounts to about 10,500." A writer, however, in Al- mon's Remembrancer, Jan. 6, 1776, vol. ii. 238, says, " There are now 26 regiments complete at Cambridge, of 632 effective men, which amounts to 16,422. The Connecticut troops re- turned home after the expiration of their time. That colony is now raising 19 regiments, of 900 effective men each. New York has raised 4, of 750 men cach; Jersey 2, of 632; and Pennsylvania 5, of 632 effective men. The number raised in the southern colonies I cannot inform you."
4 For the instructions of Congress on this subject, see Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 91.
73
RECRUITS FOR THE ARMY.
necticut were particularly mutinous ; nor was it believed that CHAP. the other colonies would give stronger proofs of attach- II. ment to the common cause, upon the arrival of the period 1775 when they might claim their dismission.1 In this, however, he was happily disappointed ; for the citizens of Massachu- setts promptly responded to the call for their enlistment, and New Hampshire behaved nobly, discovering a zeal which did her the highest honor.2 The people of Connecticut, too, " filled with grief, surprise, and indignation," were aroused to action ; and the inhabitants of the several towns, to redeem their credit, evinced their readiness to march to the camp, " upon their being acquainted with the behavior and deser- tion of their troops."3 Upon the whole, therefore, the aspect of affairs began to be more encouraging ; and the despatch made, both by the people in marching and by the legislative powers in complying with his requests, gave "infinite satisfac- tion " to the commander-in-chief.4 The want of powder was still seriously felt, nor was the supply of cannon remarkably large ; 5 but the filling up of the army, the erection of bar-
1 Thacher's Jour. 37. " The same desire of retiring into a chimney cor- ner," wrote Washington to Reed, Jan. 4, 1776, " seized the troops of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Mas- sachusetts, (so soon as their time ex- pired,) as has worked upon those of Connecticut, notwithstanding many of them made a tender of their services to continue till the lines could be suf- ficiently strengthened." Reed's Reed, i. 141.
'Sparks's Washington, iii. 195; Reed's Reed, i. 134; Frothingham's Siege, 273, 274. " The militia are coming in fast," wrote Washington, on the 11th of December. " I am much pleased with the alacrity which the good people of this province, as well as those of New Hampshire, have shown upon this occasion." See, fur- ther, his letter of Jan. 4, 1776, in Sparks's Washington, iii. 225. Mas- sachusetts, it is said, had nearly 10,000
men in the service this winter, either as part of the continental army, or as provincial troops to protect and guard the sea coast. See the rolls at the State House, and comp. Bradford, ii. 79.
3 Trumbull MS. Letter Book B, 229, 231; Sparks's Washington, iii. 198; Reed's Reed, i. 146, 147; Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 103, 104. General Lee, who was in Con- necticut soon after, with recruiting or- ders, speaks of the "noble spirit in the province ;" and Trumbull wrote to Washington, Jan. 22 and Feb. 2, 1776, that the troops were raising, and that the regiments were filling up as fast as possible. Trumbull MS. Letter Book B, 251, 253, 255.
Sparks's Washington, iii. 206.
Sparks's Washington, iii. 213, 5 215. " A committee from the Gen- eral Court of this province called on me the other day, informing me that
74
WASHINGTON'S REFLECTIONS.
CHAP. racks, and the supply of firewood, which came in freely, made II. the condition of the soldiers more comfortable and easy, and 1775. caused them to show a better disposition, and to labor more cheerfully.1
1776.
Jan. 4.
In reviewing the experience of the past few months, well might Washington write, " It is easier to conceive than to describe the situation of my mind, and my feelings, under our present circumstances. Search the vast volumes of history through, and I much question whether a case similar to ours is to be found - to wit, to maintain a post against the flower of the British troops for six months together, without powder, and, at the end of them, to have one army disbanded, and another to raise, within the same distance of a reënforced enemy."2 Nor was it without cause that he expressed these views ; for, under all the circumstances, it must be acknowl- edged that the difficulties he had encountered were such as could have never been met by an officer of inferior abilities ; nor could they have been overcome by him, had he not been seconded by eminent patriots in different parts of the country, who endeavored to allay the spirit of faction, soften local prejudices, and remove the causes which had hitherto pre- vented a harmony of action. That he did succeed, is to his credit, and to the credit of those who cooperated with him. It was indeed a time that "tried men's souls," a season of unusual darkness and gloom; and, had not the clouds been speedily dispersed, the consequences must have been fatal in the extreme.3
they were in great want of ordnance for the defence of the colony." " Our want of powder is inconceivable." " Every thing thaws here," wrote Moylan to Reed, Jan. 2, 1776, “ ex- cept Old Put. He is still as hard as ever, crying out for powder, powder! Ye gods, give us powder." Reed's Reed, i. 139.
1 Frothingham's Siege, 274-276.
Sparks's Washington, iii. 225 ; Reed's Reed, i. 141; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 14; Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 259; Thacher's Jour. 37.
3 Lord Mahon's Hist. Eng. vi. 65. "It is highly to the honor of Wash- ington, laboring under so many dis- advantages, to have yet achieved so much."
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75
POSITION OF THE BRITISH.
The position of the British army was equally discouraging. CHAP. Sickness extensively prevailed in Boston -the small pox, II. especially, having made sad havoc with the troops; 1 the com- 1776. missariat was very ill contrived ; provisions were scarce ; fuel Jan. 17. was wanting, and could only be obtained with the greatest difficulty ; and the severity of the season, - the piercing winds and driving snows, - to which they were unaccustomed, caused much distress.2 Nor were the tories, who had enlisted under Brigadier Ruggles, in a much better condition, notwithstand- ing their loyalty was amply rewarded by the gracious per- mission to " wear a white sash around the left arm ; " and the " Loyal Irish Volunteers," who were distinguished by a " white cockade," found even that ornament insufficient to satisfy the cravings of hunger.3 Many, in consequence of their suffer- ings, were driven to desperation ; and it was only by the exercise of the strictest discipline on the part of General Howe, that the more lawless were kept from plundering pri- vate property and breaking out into all manner of riotous excesses. In some cases, offenders were hanged ; in others, they were sentenced to receive from four hundred to one thou- sand lashes, according to the heinousness of their offence ; and an instance is recorded of the wife of a private, who was sen- tenced " to receive one hundred lashes on her bare back with a cat-o'-nine-tails, at the cart's tail, in different portions of the
1 Almon's Remembrancer, ii. 230; Frothingham's Siege, 280. "The dis- tress of the troops and people at Bos- ton exceeds the possibility of descrip- tion. There are advices in town of December 14; not a coal ship was then arrived ; the inhabitants and troops literally starving with cold. They had taken the pews out of all the places of worship for fuel ; had pulled down empty houses, &c .; and were then digging up the timber at the wharves for' firing. Very poor clothing ; and so scarce of provisions, they had been eating horse flesh for some time."
2 Thacher's Jour. 36; Frothing- ham's Siege, 280. Comp. Lord Ma- hon's Hist. Eng. vi. 81.
3 Frothingham's Siege, 279. The orders for the enlistment of the loy- alists were issued in November; and the general order of the 17th of that month alludes to three companies. The Irish merchants enlisted in De- cember. Another class is likewise alluded to, - the Royal Fencible Americans, - said to have been made up of deserters from the Amer- ican camp.
76
A COUNCIL OF WAR CALLED.
CHAP. most conspicuous parts of the town, and to be imprisoned for II. three months.1
1775. Dec. 22.
A few days after the opening of the new year, the resolution of the General Congress passed in December was received by Washington, authorizing him to attempt the expulsion of the British from Boston "in any manner he might think expedient, notwithstanding the town, and property in it, might thereby be destroyed." 2 John Hancock, the president of the Congress, and one of the wealthiest citizens of Massachusetts, subscribed to this resolution with a disinterested zeal ; and in his mes- sage to the commander-in-chief communicating the action of his colleagues, he wrote, " May God crown your attempt with success. I most heartily wish it, though individually I may be the greatest sufferer." 3
1776. Jan. 15, 16, an 18.
In accordance with this resolution, a council of war was convened, to which the question of an attack was submitted, and urged on the ground that it was "indispensably necessary to make a bold attempt to conquer the ministerial troops be- fore they could be reenforced in the spring." 4 The situation of the army, however, was extremely distressing. "My reflec- Jan. 14. tion upon it," wrote Washington, " produces many an uneasy hour, when all around me are wrapped in sleep. Few people know the predicament we are in on a thousand accounts ; fewer still will believe, if any disaster happens to these lines, from what cause it flows. If I shall be able to rise superior to these and many other difficulties which might be enumer- ated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Prov-
1 Frothingham's Siege, 281.
2 Jour. Cont. Cong. i. 281; Sparks's Washington, iii. 221; Frothingham's Siege, 285. On the 19th of January, 1776, the General Court of Massachu- setts issued a proclamation on the support of the government, which was ordered to be read at the opening of every Superior Court of Judicature, &c., and at the annual town meetings in
March, also by ministers of the gospel to their respective societies. Niles's Principles and Acts of the Rev. 142, 143.
3 Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 100; Frothingham's Siege, 286.
4 Sparks's Washington, iii. 221, note, 253, note; Reed's Reed, i. 149; Frothingham's Siege, 286.
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77
A SECOND COUNCIL CONVENED.
idence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies ; for surely, CHAP. if we get well through this month, it must be for want of II.
their knowing the disadvantages we labor under."1 In conse- 1776. quence of these difficulties, the action of the council was less decisive than it would have been under other circumstances. It was agreed, however, that a vigorous attempt on Boston Jan. 18. ought to be made, but that " the present force was inadequate " for the purpose ; and his excellency was advised to "request of the neighboring colonies thirteen regiments of militia, - seven from Massachusetts, four from Connecticut, and two from New Hampshire, - to serve till the first of April." In the mean time, should an opportunity offer to effect any thing, Washington was determined to avail himself of it; and if, by any extraordinary exertion on his own part, or combination of circumstances favorable to an attack, the prospect of its successful termination seemed to warrant the attempt, he was ready to engage in it at all hazards.2
In the following month, a new council was convened, but with Feb. 16. a like want of success. The irksomeness of his situation, and the consciousness that " the eyes of the whole continent were fixed with anxious expectation of hearing of some great event," had induced Washington to reurge upon their attention the ex- pediency of an assault ; but the inadequate state of the army, and the want of suitable munitions, were, in their estimation, invincible objections to a compliance with his request. It was resolved, however, that a cannonade and bombardment might be advisable, as soon as a supply of powder was received, and that preparations should be made to " take possession of Dor- chester Hill, with a view of drawing out the enemy, and of Noddle's Island also, if the situation of the water and other
1 Sparks's Washington, iii. 240 ; 16, 1776, in Trumbull's MS. Letter Reed's Reed, i. 144; Frothingham's Siege, 286.
2 MS. Lett. of Washington to Gov- ernor Trumbull, of Connecticut, Jan.
Book B, 246; MS. Minutes of Pro- ceedings of the Council, in ibid. 248, 249, 522-524; Sparks's Washington, iii.
78
IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONDITION OF THE AMERICANS.
CHAP. circumstances would admit of it."1 This decision seems not II. to have given entire satisfaction to Washington ; but the 1776. arrangement was acquiesced in, and the conduct of the busi- ness was left to General Ward, who, with Generals Thomas and Spencer, had been for some time collecting fascines and gabions, "in expectation that the same would be wanted." 2 * In the mean time, the army had been materially strengthened by the arrival of ten regiments of fresh recruits ; and Colonel Knox, " with an enterprise and perseverance that elicited the warmest commendations, had brought from Crown Point and Ticonderoga, over frozen lakes and almost impassable snows, more than fifty cannon, mortars, and howitzers ; " a supply of shells had been procured from various sources ; and even pow- der became comparatively plenty in the camp.3 A day was therefore fixed upon to take possession of Dorchester Heights ; Feb. 26. and Washington wrote to the Council of the Massachusetts Bay, submitting it to their wisdom "whether it may not be best to direct the militia of certain towns most contiguous to Dor- chester and Roxbury to repair to the lines at those places,
1 Heath's Mems. 38; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 24; Sparks's Washing- ton, iii. 292; Reed's Reed, i. 166; Frothingham's Siege, 291, 292. The following extract from an unpublished letter of Washington to Governor Trumbull, Feb. 19, 1776, refers to this subject : " My situation with ref- erence to this article [powder] is real- ly distressing ; and, while common prudence obliges me to keep my want of it concealed, to avoid a discovery thereof to the enemy, I feel the bad effects of that concealment from our friends ; for, not believing our distress equal to what it really is, they with- hold such supplies as are in their pow- er to give. I am so restrained in all my military movements for want of the necessary supplies, that it is im- possible to undertake any thing effec- tual ; and, while I am fretting at my own disagreeable situation, the world, I suppose, is not behind in censuring
my inactivity. A golden opportunity has been lost, perhaps not to be re- paired again this year. The late freez- ing weather had formed some pretty strong ice from Dorchester to Boston Neck, and from Roxbury to the Com- mon, which would have afforded a less dangerous approach to the town than through the lines or by the water." Trumbull, MS. Letter Book B, 266 et seq. For a return of the powder re- ceived at Cambridge from Providence, February 21, - amounting to 3577 lbs. net, - see ibid. 268. See, also, ibid. 264, Lett. of Gov. Trumbull, Feb. 16, relative to forwarding powder.
2 Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 24.
3 J. Adams's Diary, in Works, ii. 432; Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 87, 94; Heath's Mems. 28, 37 ; Gor- don's Am. Rev. ii. 26; Sparks's Wash- ington, iii. 297; Reed's Reed, i. 129, 131; Bradford, ii. 81 ; Frothingham's Siege, 295.
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79
THE APPROACHING CONFLICT.
with their arms, ammunition, and accoutrements, instantly CHAP. upon a given signal." 1 To facilitate this plan, the works at II. Lechmere's Point were completed, and some heavy pieces of 1776. ordnance were placed there, with two platforms for mortars ; strong guards were likewise mounted at the Point and at Cobble Hill ; and every thing was ready for offensive oper- ations. 2
With these preparations, early in March the American camp began to present "indications of an approaching conflict." The ground at Dorchester was frozen so hard that intrench- ments could not be readily thrown up ; and the army was " obliged to depend entirely on chandeliers, fascines, and screwed hay " for their redoubts.3 To divert the attention of the enemy, while engaged at their work, a severe cannonade Mar. 2. was commenced from Cobble Hill, Lechmere's Point, and Lamb's Dam, in Roxbury ; and under cover of this fire, which was continued for three nights, General Thomas, with about two thousand men, six twelve pounders, and six or eight field pieces, marched to take possession of Dorchester Heights. Mar. 4. A covering party of eight hundred men led the way; then came the carts with the intrenching tools ; after these came the main working body of about twelve hundred men; and a train of more than three hundred carts, provided by General Mifflin, and loaded with fascines and hay, "closed the proces- sion." 4 The whole body moved with the greatest silence, and reached their destination in about an hour. The covering party then divided - one half proceeding " to the point near- est to Boston, and the other to that next to the Castle." The direction of the wind was favorable to the workmen, carrying
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