USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 9
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1 Sparks's Washington, iii. 295, 296.
2 Heath's Memoirs, 39; Sparks's Washington, iii. 296; Reed's Reed, i. 166; Frothingham's Siege, 296. 3 Sparks's Washington, iii. 299; Reed's Reed, i. 167 ; Frothingham's Siege, 297.
4 S. Nash's MS. Journal ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 26; Newell's Jour. in 4 M. H. Coll. i. 272; Sparks's Wash- ington, iii. 302, 303 ; Reed's Reed, i. 168. John Goddard, of Brookline, is said to have had charge of these carts. Communication of H. W. Fuller, Esq.
80
INTRENCHMENTS AT DORCHESTER.
CHAP. what noise could not be avoided by driving the stakes and II. picking the ground towards the harbor, between the town and 1776. the Castle ; and by ten o'clock, so diligently did they labor, two forts were erected, one upon each hill, sufficient to defend them from small arms and grape shot. The night was re- markably mild and pleasant; and the moon, which shone brightly upon the hills, gave sufficient light to conduct their operations, while the haze below prevented their being discov- ered. About three o'clock in the morning, a relief party of two companies of artillery was sent on ; at four o'clock, Cap- tain Drury's company of artillery marched ; teams passed con- stantly to and fro with materials for the defences ; and the attention of the British was diverted by the firing from Rox- bury, from Cobble Hill, and from Lechmere's Point, which they briskly returned with bomb and ball. The construction of the works was somewhat novel ; and rows of barrels, filled with earth, were placed around, which "presented only the appearance of strengthening " them, but which were in reality designed to roll upon the enemy, in case of an attack.1
It was some time after daybreak, on the morning of the Mar. 5. fifth, before the " ministerial troops " could clearly discern the newly-erected forts, which loomed up to great advantage, and which were thought to be much larger than was really the case. The pencil of a Hogarth would have been needed to portray the astonishment of General Howe ; and in great con- fusion he exclaimed, "I know not what I shall do. These rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in months." Admiral Shuldham was also
1 Nash's MS. Journal, in the posses- sion of the author ; Gen. Howe to Earl of Dartmouth, Mar. 21, 1776; Heath's Memoirs, 40; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 26, 27; Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 262; Sparks's Washington, iii. 341 ; Reed's Reed, i. 168; Letters of Mrs. Adams ; N. A. Rev. for Oct. 1840, 371, 372 ;
Frothingham's Siege, 298. The pro- ject of filling barrels with earth was " suggested," says Heath, " by Mr. William Davis, merchant, of Boston, to our general, who immediately com- municated it to the commander-in- chief, who highly approved of it, as did all the other officers."
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81
MOVEMENTS OF THE BRITISH.
of opinion that, if the Americans were not dislodged, not one CHAP. of his majesty's ships could be kept in the harbor. A coun- II. cil of war was accordingly convened, and it was decided to 1776. attempt to force the works.1
Washington had already settled his plans of defence and offence ; and his officers and men " appeared impatient for the appeal, and to possess the most animated sentiments and de- termined resolution." Signals had been prepared at Roxbury meeting house to mark the moment of the enemy's departure from Boston ; and four thousand chosen men, under Sullivan and Greene, were held in readiness at Cambridge, and parad- ed, to embark in boats, land at different points, and enter the town as soon as the British should leave. The hurry and bustle in the camp of General Howe could be distinctly seen from without ; his orders were issued for the preparation of scaling ladders, about ten feet in length ; and a large body of troops was directed to embark on board the transports, with a view of landing in the hollow between the farthest of the two fortified hills and the Castle. The men, it is said, looked pale and dejected ; and more than one was heard to remark, " It will be another Bunker's Hill affair, or worse." The Americans watched their movements with no little eager- ness ; and when the columns appeared on the wharves, and passed to the transports, they " clapped their hands for joy, and wished them to come on." It was remembered throughout the camp that it was the anniversary of the massacre of 1770 ; and Washington had only to remind his men of the circum- stance to "add fuel to the martial fire already kindled, and
1 Nash's MS. Journal ; Thacher's Jour. 43 ; Lett. of Jedediah Hunting- ton, Mar. 6, 1776, in Trumbull MSS. v. 45; Almon's Remembrancer, iii. 106; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 27; Sparks's Washington, iii. 303; Reed's Reed, i. 169, 171; Bradford, ii. 92; Frothingham's Siege, 298, 299. " Af- ter the enemy discovered our men on VOL. III. 6
the hills," says Nash, " they fired twen- ty or thirty shot at them, but did no damage. We had one lieutenant killed at Roxbury last night, and two men killed at Cambridge, one of whom was killed with a bomb - the first we have ever had killed with a bomb since the campaign begun."
82
STATE OF FEELING IN BOSTON.
CHAP. burning with uncommon intenseness." The surrounding hills II. were alive with spectators ; and a more bloody scene was 1776. anticipated than at Charlestown. But the movements of the British were delayed by a furious wind, which arose in the afternoon, and which blew with such violence as to prevent the ships from reaching their destination. The attempt, therefore, was abandoned for that day ; and on the following Mar. 6. day the wind continued boisterous, and a storm of rain set in, which precluded the possibility of renewing it with any pros- pect of success.1
Mar. 7. The seventh was a day of hurry and confusion in Boston ; and " both troops and tories were as busy as possible in pre- paring to quit the town, and to carry off all they could of their military stores and valuable effects." That night, Cap- tain Irvine, who had been held as a prisoner, escaped, with six others, and, visiting head quarters, informed Washington of the movements of the enemy, and of their intention to with- draw as speedily as possible. Nor was this mere rumor ; for, Mar. 8. the next day, a flag was sent out from the selectmen, with a message assuring his excellency that General Howe had no intention of destroying the town "unless his troops were mo- lested, during their embarkation or departure, by the armed force without."2 But Washington was not to be deterred from taking all necessary steps to insure the success of his plans ; and a strong detachment was sent to throw up a bat- tery on Nook's Hill, at Dorchester Point, with the design of acting as circumstances might require. This, however, was
1 Almon's Remembrancer, iii. 105, 106; Thacher's Jour. 41; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 28; Sparks's Washing- ton, iii. 304, 305 ; Reed's Reed, i. 169; Boston Gazette for March 4, 11, 18, and 25, 1776; Bradford, ii. 93, 94; Frothingham's Siege, 300. " Tuesday, March 5: an exceeding bad storm this morning. Wednesday, March 6: no firing to-day." Nash's Jour.
2 Nash's Jour. ; Thacher's Jour. 42 ; Newell's Jour. in 4 M. H. Coll.
i. 273 ; Impartial Hist. of the War, 294; Heath's Mems. 41; Almon's Remembrancer, iii. 105 ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 29; Sparks's Wash- ington, iii. 307, 311, 532, 533; Reed's Reed, i. 183; Frothingham's Siege. Israel Mauduit, in some MS. notes on the examination of Lord Howe, speaks of this as a " clandes- tine capitulation, which he meanly per- mitted and connived at, between the selectmen of Boston and Washington."
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83
EVACUATION OF THE TOWN.
not effected without discovery ; and a fire was opened by the CHAP. British upon the Point, which was returned by the Americans II. 1776. from Roxbury, Cobble Hill, and Lechmere's Point.1
The suspense of the Americans continued for a week, dur- ing which time the British were busily employed in complet- ing their arrangements. A portion of the soldiery, as was to have been expected, could not be restrained from acts of vio- lence ; and " there was a licentious plundering of shops, stores, and dwelling houses, by soldiers and sailors, carrying destruc- tion wherever they went; and what they could not carry away they destroyed." 2 It should be observed, however, to the credit of General Howe, that he exerted himself diligently to prevent such excesses ; and the guilty were threatened with death, if detected in robbing or firing a house.3 All that he now waited for was a favorable wind, to enable him to embark ; but the crisis was precipitated when, on the morn- ing of the seventeenth, he discovered a breastwork on Nook's Mar. 17. Hill, entirely commanding the town, and rendering longer delay both imprudent and dangerous. The preparations for the embarkation were therefore hastened; and, at a quite early hour on Sunday, the British, satisfied that "neither hell, Hull, ' nor Halifax could afford worse shelter," evacuated the town, with some fifteen hundred of the tories, leaving behind a number of cannon, spiked, and two large marine mortars, which they had attempted in vain to burst. Their departure was soon known in the American camp, though the garrison at Bunker Hill sought to conceal their retreat by fixing " some images representing men in the places of their sentinels, with muskets on their shoulders." But the deception was quickly
1 Nash's Jour. ; Heath's Memoirs, 41; Sparks's Washington, iii. 307. " We had four men killed at one shot on the Point," says Nash, " and were obliged to give over intrenching that night." James Blake resided at the Point, but had deserted his house.
Communication of Pynson Blake, Esq.
2 Newell's Jour. in 4 M. H. Coll. i. 274 ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 29.
3 Gen. Howe to the Earl of Dart- mouth, Jan. 22, 1776 ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 30 ; Frothingham's Siege, 307.
84
DEPARTURE OF THE BRITISH FLEET.
CHAP. discovered ; and while General Putnam landed at Sewall's II. Point, and entered the town in one direction, a detachment
1776. of Ward's troops from Roxbury marched in, under Colonel Learned, and took possession from that quarter, to the inex- pressible joy of the patriot inhabitants.1
The transports of the British, which, with the other vessels, consisted in all of one hundred and forty sail, were detained in the harbor and roads for several days; and during this period the troops burned the blockhouse and barracks on Castle Island, and blew up and demolished the fortifica- tions.2 Their precise destination was not known ; but, as it was conjectured by Washington that their next attempt would be against New York or some more southern colony, he was determined to be in readiness to meet them wherever they might land. For this purpose, as General Lee had some time
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1 Boston Gazette for March 25, 1776 ; Nash's Journal; Heath's Me- moirs, 43; Sparks's Washington, iii. 321; Reed's Reed, i. 176. "The hurry in which they have embarked," wrote Washington to Reed, "is in- conceivable. They have not, from a rough estimate, left less than £30,000 worth of his majesty's property behind them, in provisions and stores, ves- sels, rugs, blankets, &c .; near thirty pieces of fine heavy cannon are left spiked, which we are now drilling, a mortar or two, the H. shells, &c., in abundance; all their artillery carts, powder wagons, &c., &c., which they have been twelve months about, are left, with such abuse as their hurry would permit them to bestow ; whilst others, after a little cutting and hack- ing, were thrown into the harbor, and arc now visiting cvery shore. In short, you can scarce form an idea of the matter. Valuable vessels are left, with only a mast or bowsprit cut down, some of them loaded; their works are all standing, upon exami- nation of which, especially at Bun- ker's Hill, we find amazingly strong ; 20,000 men could not liave carried it against 1000, had that work been well
defended. The town of Boston was almost impregnable, every avenue fortified." For a list of the stores left in Boston, see the Boston Gazette for - April 15, 1776, Stedman's Am. War, i. 167, and Almon's Remembrancer, iii. 109. The British, it is said, mixed arsenic with the medicines left at the almshouse ; and the fact was fully proved by an analysis conducted by Dr. Warren. Gazette for April 22, 1776.
1
2 Newell's Jour. in 4 M. H. Coll. i. 275; Nash's Journal; Almon's Re- membrancer, iii. 105, 109; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 31; Heath's Mems. 43; Sparks's Washington, iii. 324, 327, 330; Reed's Reed, i. 177. “ Tues- day, March 21," says Naslı, "all the ships, except one that lay by the Cas- tle, got under way, and went down to Nantasket Roads, and there came to an anchor ; and our people went and took possession of the Castle, where several cannon were left, and all ex- cept three were spiked up. Colonel Tupper, with a great number of men in whaleboats, has been down the channel two or three days, to watch the motion of the enemy."
85
CONDITION OF THE TOWN.
before been ordered thither, the march of the continental CHAP. army towards the south was hastened ; and, before the month II. closed, several regiments were on their way to New York, 1776. while Washington himself remained for a season, to prevent the recapture of the town and to mature his plans.1 Thus were the British expelled from the soil of Massachusetts. The " refractory colony" remained unsubdued ; and the zeal which had been displayed inspired throughout the country the live- liest hopes of ultimate success.
The triumph of Washington was highly encouraging ; and congratulatory addresses poured in upon him from the Gen- eral Congress, the inhabitants of Boston, and the legislature of Massachusetts.2 The condition of the town exhibited a melancholy proof of the ravages of war. The small pox was raging. The streets were filled with filth. Many buildings were destroyed ; churches were defaced ; fruit and ornamental trees had been cut down and burned; and the wanton spirit of devastation had left its traces in every quarter.3 Happily, the recuperative energies of the people were such, that the check which had been put upon their temporal prosperity stimulated to renewed efforts to regain their former position ; the deserted streets were once more filled ; business was re- sumed ; industry flowed in its accustomed channels ; the waste places were built up; and the metropolis of the north began
1 Nash's Journal ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 31; Heath's Memoirs, 44 ; Sparks's Washington, iii. 319, 330- 333.
2 Almon's Remembrancer, iii. 111- 113; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 33; Sparks's Washington, iii. 335, 533; Niles's Principles and Acts of the Rev. 148-150; Bradford, ii. 97-101; Frothingham's Siege, 316 et seq. " To the wisdom, firmness, intrepid- ity, and military abilities of our amia- ble and beloved general, his excellen- cy Geo. Washington, Esq.," says the Boston Gazette for March 25; "to
the assiduity, skill, and bravery of the other worthy generals and officers of the army; and to the hardiness and gallantry of the soldiery, is to be ascribed, under God, the glory and success of our arms in driving from one of the strongest holds in America so considerable a part of the British army as that which last week occupied the capital of this province."
3 Recollections of a Bostonian, in the Boston Centinel, and in Niles's Principles and Acts of the Rev. 479, 480 ; Bradford, ii. 94, 95 ; Frothing- ham's Siege, 327-329.
86
CONDITION OF THE TOWN.
CHAP. to resume its wonted aspect of activity and enterprise. This, II. it is true, was the work of time; nor was it easy, where 1776. oppression had so long ruled, to recover in an instant from the convulsive shock. But to the determined soul all obsta- cles yield, and discouragements are but stepping stones to higher achievements.
CHAPTER III.
INDEPENDENCE DECLARED.
THE evacuation of Boston by the British troops transferred CHAP. the theatre of war from Massachusetts to New York ; and III. thenceforth the revolution, no longer confined to the limits 1776. of a single colony, became a national affair. The thir- teen united colonies had previously pledged themselves to sustain it as the cause of the country, under the conviction that it was a common cause. No longer, therefore, could tar- diness be tolerated ; and preparations for general hostilities were prosecuted with vigor. The question of independence, too, came up for discussion ; and, as it admitted of little doubt that the intentions of Great Britain were to push matters to extremities, and as all hopes of reconciliation had been re- luctantly abandoned, there remained but one course for the Americans to take-they must proceed immediately to declare their independence. "With respect to myself," wrote Wash- ington to Reed, "I have never entertained an idea of an Feb. 10. accommodation since I heard of the measures which were adopted in consequence of the Bunker's Hill fight. The king's speech has confirmed the sentiments I entertained upon . the news of that affair ; and if every man was of my mind, the ministers of Great Britain should know in a few words upon what issue the cause should be put. I would not be deceived by artful declarations or specious pretences ; nor would I be amused by unmeaning propositions ; but in open, undisguised, and manly terms proclaim our wrongs, and our resolution to be redressed. I would tell them that we had borne much ; that we had long and ardently sought for reconciliation upon
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88
STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING IN AMERICA.
CHAP. honorable terms; that it had been denied us ; that all our III. attempts after peace had proved abortive, and had been 1776. grossly misrepresented ; that we had done every thing which could be expected from the best of subjects ; that the spirit of freedom beats too high in us to submit to slavery ; and that, if nothing else would satisfy a tyrant and his diabolical min- istry, we were determined to shake off all connections with a state so unjust and unnatural. This I would tell them - not under cover, but in words as clear as the sun in its meridian brightness." 1
The sentiments thus expressed were extensively current ; and by many zealous patriots a declaration of independence was urgently counselled. "Permit me," wrote Greene, at the Jan. 4. opening of the new year, " to recommend, from the sincerity of my heart, ready at all times to bleed in my country's cause, a declaration of independence, and call upon the world, and the great God who governs it, to witness the necessity, propriety, and rectitude thereof."2 "Shall we never," wrote Moylan to Joseph Reed, “ leave off debating, and boldly declare inde- pendence ? That, and that only, will make us act with spirit and vigor. The bulk of the people will not be against it ; but the few and timid always will." 3 General Charles Lee Feb. 28. also wrote to the same person, "Reconciliation and reunion with Great Britain is now as much of a chimera as incorpo- ration with the people of Tibet." 4 Reed himself likewise Mar. 3. wrote to Pettit, "I look upon separation from the mother
1 Sparks's Washington, iii. 286; nite action. Bissett, Hist. Eng. i. Reed's Reed, i. 158. Gordon, Am. 469, Philad. 1822, likewise mistakes the views of Washington in supposing that he was " far from approving of an entire dissolution of the connec- tion " with Great Britain. Comp. on this subject Sparks's Life of Washing- ton, i. 116, and N. A. Rev. for Oct. 1838, 365. Rev. ii. 13, represents Washington as holding different sentiments, and says he had " no wish that the Congress should declare the colonies independ- ent." But this statement needs qual- ification, and should be understood of his views at an earlier date, when, it is admitted, he, like others, cherished 2 Frothingham's Siege, 284. the hope of reconciliation. But he 3 Reed's Reed, i. 160. had now abandoned that hope, and 4 Reed's Reed, i. 161. taken ground in favor of more defi-
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89
THOMAS PAINE'S " COMMON SENSE."
country as a certain event, though we are not yet so familiar- CHAP. ized to the idea as thoroughly to approve it."1 And, even at
1775. Nov.29.
III. an earlier date, Jefferson wrote to John Randolph, “ Believe me, dear sir, there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before 1 yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament proposes ; and in this I think I speak the sentiments of Amer- ica. We want neither inducement nor power to declare and assert a separation. It is will alone that is wanting ; and that is growing apace, under the fostering hand of our king."2
While matters were in this state, Thomas Paine issued his pamphlet entitled " Common Sense," in which the question of independence was boldly discussed ; and the effect it produced was really marvellous. "Nothing," says Gordon, " could have been better timed than this performance. In unison with the sentiments and feelings of the people, it has produced most astonishing effects, and been received with vast applause ; read by every American ; and recommended as a work replete with truth, and against which none but the partial and preju- diced can form any objections. It has satisfied multitudes that it is their true interest immediately to cut the Gordian knot by which the American colonies have been bound to Great Britain, and to open their commerce, as an independent people, to all the nations of the world. It has been greatly instrumental in producing a similarity of sentiment through the continent upon the subject under the consideration of Congress."3 Washington also wrote, " A few more of such flaming arguments as were exhibited at Falmouth and Norfolk, added to the sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning con- tained in the pamphlet ' Common Sense,' will not leave num- bers at a loss to decide upon the propriety of a separation." 4
1 Reed's Reed, i. 164, note. 4 Reed's Reed, i. 148. See also Jefferson's Works, i. 203. Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 338, and 2 Am. Rev. ii. 78. Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 136.
1776. Jan. 31.
90
VIEWS OF CONGRESS.
CHAP. III.
No definite action, however, had as yet been taken by Con- gress on this subject ; nor were all the members prepared for 1776. so important a step.1 Indeed, the dissimilar origin and inter- ests of the colonists, with the peculiarities of their government, their institutions, and their temperament, the variety of their religious opinions, and the rarity of their intercourse with each other, were formidable obstacles to perfect concert of action ; and there were many, besides, whose personal interests and political prejudices were so deeply involved that the idea of an entire renunciation of allegiance to England was viewed by them with aversion ; and these cautious statesmen, like coastwise navigators fearful of adventuring to a distance from land, urged that it would be unwise and impolitic to proceed to extremi- ties without first providing additional safeguards for the pro- tection of their liberties ; and even then, they argued, it would be better to refrain from severing the ties which had bound them to the mother country until fully assured that they could do so with safety, and with a reasonable prospect of ultimate success.2
The history of the separation of the colonies from Great Britain is replete with peculiar interest and instruction ; and,
John Adams entertained a less exalt- ed opinion of this pamphlet; and while he admits that "it probably converted some to the doctrine of in- dependence," he adds, " these would all have followed Congress with zeal ; and, on the other hand, it excited many writers against it, particularly ' Plain Truth,' who contributed very largely to fortify and inflame the par- ty against independence, and finally lost us the Allens, Penns, and many other persons of weight in the com- munity." Autobiog. in Works, ii. 509. See also " The Life and Character of Thomas Paine," in N. A. Rev. for July, 1843. " Plain Truth " was print- ed at Philadelphia, in 1776, in a pam- phlet of 84 pages, including the re- marks of " Rationalis " and " Cato to the People." A pamphlet of 72 pages,
entitled " The True Interest of Amer- ica impartially stated, in Certain Strictures on a Pamphlet entitled Common Sense," was also printed in Philadelphia in the same year.
1 Early in January, 1776, a motion was made in Congress to the effect that, " whereas we have been charged with aiming at independency, a com- mittee shall be appointed to explain to the people at large the principles and grounds of our opposition," &c .; but as some alarm was occasioned by this motion, the matter was postponed for future consideration. Jour. Cont. Cong .; Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works, ix. 372; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 13.
2 Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works. x. 283 ; Austin's Life of E. Gerry, i. 169; Bradford, ii. 30, 31.
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91
POSITION OF MASSACHUSETTS.
as it was the culminating point in our national career, it merits CHAP. in this place an extended discussion. The part taken by Mas- III. sachusetts in effecting this separation has never been thor- 1776. oughly understood ; nor has full justice been done to the noble men who represented this province in the national councils - who were stigmatized at the time as " desperate adventurers," " bankrupts, attorneys, and men of desperate fortunes." 1 The idea of independence had for years been familiar to their minds ; and, both in public and in private, they had often and warmly spoken in its favor.2 Nor is it surprising that they were convinced of the necessity of this measure. The ven- geance of the ministry had been aimed chiefly at Massachu- setts ; it was here that the struggle for freedom commenced ; and thus far, the movements of the war, with but very few exceptions, had been confined to these limits. The people of the north, likewise, who were of the Puritan stock, and who inherited the sturdy spirit of their ancestors, were more jealous of their liberties than their brethren in other parts. They had been trained to investigate constitutional principles ; they
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