USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 17
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1 This project was started in 1750. Bancroft, iv. 75.
2 Johnson, in Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 672; Letter of Lieutenant Governor De Lancey, in Trumbull MSS. i. 79; Shirley's Speech of April 2, in Boston Weekly News Letter for April 25.
3 Penn had concerted a plan for the union of the colonies as early as 1698. N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, iv. 296, 297.
4 Kant's Works, quoted in Ban- croft, iv. 255.
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177
THE CONGRESS MEETS AT ALBANY.
improve, as circumstances should require and experience di- CHAP. rect." 1 VII.
Happily for America, these views, which, had they been 1754. uttered a half century before, would have been received with distrust, as leaning towards independence, were forced upon the notice of the statesmen of England by the condition of the colonies and the encroachments of France. Hence the prop- osition for a congress at Albany, acceptable as it was on this side of the Atlantic, if it originated here, was favored by the mother country and sanctioned by her authority.2
After some delay this congress met. Delegates from seven June 18 provinces were present ; 3 and messengers had been sent to the or 19. Indian castles to request their attendance, but few of them arrived until the last of the month. The members of this assembly, both for abilities and fortune, were among the most considerable men in America ; and never had there been con- vened in New York a more eminent body.4 The first day was spent in organizing the convention and settling the prelimina- ries, after which business was promptly despatched. The negotiations with the Indians were made at intervals, and the " chain of friendship " was thoroughly brightened. But the question of a union of the colonies was the all-important theme ; and on Monday a committee was appointed, of one from each Jun. 24. province, to " prepare and receive plans or schemes for the ' union of the colonies, and to digest them into one general plan
1 Anon. Lett. from Philadelphia, attributed to Franklin; and Clark's Lett. in 1 M. H. Coll. iv. 74. Comp. also Bancroft, iv. 75, 91.
Hutchinson, iii. 20; Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 545.
3 The delegates from NEW YORK were De Lancey, Murray, Johnson, Chambers, and Smith ; from MASSA- CHUSETTS, Welles, Chandler, Hutch- inson, Partridge, and Worthington ; from NEW HAMPSHIRE, Atkinson, Wibird, Weare, and Sherburne ; from CONNECTICUT, Pitkins, Wolcott, and Williams; from RHODE ISLAND, Hop-
kins and Howard; from MARYLAND, Tasker and Barnes ; and from PENN- SYLVANIA, Penn, Peters, Norris, and Franklin. See Johnson, in Doc. Hist. N. Y. i. 553, 554 ; and 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 76, 203. The colonies to the south of the Potomac were not repre- sented.
4 It was compared, at the time, by a spirited writer, to " one of the an- cient Greek conventions for support- ing their expiring liberty against the power of the Persian empire," &c. 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 77. Comp. also Hutchinson, iii. 20.
VOL. II. 12
178
PLAN OF UNION.
CHAP. for the inspection of this board."1 The members of this com- VII. mittee present to us names distinguished in the annals of our 1754. country. They were Thomas Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, afterwards governor of the province, a man of splendid abili- ties, but loving money and office ; Theodore Atkinson, of New Hampshire, chief justice of that province, conspicuous for his virtues, and of unassuming modesty ; William Pitkin, of Con- necticut, afterwards governor of the colony, active, persevering, and of excellent abilities ; Stephen Hopkins, of Rhode Island, governor of that province for nine years, and a signer of the memorable Declaration of Independence ; Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, also a signer of the Declaration of Independ- ence ; Benjamin Tasker, of Maryland ; and William Smith, of New York, a lawyer of eminence, afterwards a member of his majesty's Council and a judge of the Court of King's Bench. Franklin was, without doubt, the master spirit of the commit- tee ; and, as the movement was one in which he was deeply interested, he had brought with him the "heads " of a plan which he had personally "projected." 2
Jun. 28. On the 28th, " hints of a scheme " of union were presented, of which copies were taken by the commissioners of the respec- tive provinces. These "hints" were debated with singular eloquence for several days, in speeches which were at once "both nervous and pathetic ; " but, after nearly a fortnight had July 10. passed, no decision was reached. At that date " Mr. Franklin reported the draught in a new form," which was "read para- graph by paragraph and debated, and the further consideration of it deferred to the afternoon," when it was adopted.3 By its terms, the general government was to be administered by a president, appointed and supported by the crown, and a council, chosen by the representatives of the several colonies. This council was to consist of forty-eight members ; of which Mas-
1 Johnson, in Doc. Hist. N. Y. üi. 564.
Hutchinson, iii. 21.
3 Johnson, in Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 570, 571, 589, 591, 605, 611-615; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 77.
1
PLAN OF UNION.
179
sachusetts and Virginia were each to choose seven, New Hamp- CHAP. shire and Rhode Island two each, Connecticut five, New York, VII. Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina four each, New 1754. Jersey three, and Pennsylvania six. A new election of mem- bers was to be made triennially ; and on the death or resigna- tion of any member, his place was to be supplied at the next sitting of the colony he represented. After the first three years, the quota of each province was to be determined by the proportion it paid into the general treasury ; though no prov- ince was to be entitled to more than seven, or less than two, councillors. This council was empowered to choose its own speaker, but could neither be dissolved nor prorogued, nor could it continue in session longer than six weeks at one time with- out the consent of its members or the special command of the crown. The assent of the president was required to all acts of the council to give to them validity ; and it was his duty to cause such acts to be executed. With the advice of the coun- cil he could likewise hold treaties with the Indians, regulate trade, make peace or declare war, purchase their lands for the crown if not within the limits of particular provinces, settle such purchases, and make laws for their government until the crown should form them into distinct governments. The coun- cil was further authorized to raise and pay soldiers, build forts for public defence, equip vessels to guard the coast and pro- tect the trade on the ocean and lakes, and levy such duties as were necessary to defray the expenses accruing ; but no men were to be impressed in any colony without the consent of its legislature. A quorum of the council was to consist of twenty- five members, among whom there was to be one or more from a majority of the colonies ; and the laws made by that body were not to be repugnant, but " as near as may be agreeable," to the laws of England, and were to be transmitted to the king for approval as soon as practicable. If not disapproved within three years, they were to remain in force. All military offi- cers were to be nominated by the president, and approved by
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180
PLAN OF UNION.
CHAP. the council before receiving their commissions ; and all civil VII. officers were to be nominated by the council, and approved by 1754. the president. The first meeting of the government was to be held at Philadelphia, and was to be called by the president as soon as convenient after his appointment.1
Such was the confederacy of 1754, framed in July, just twenty-two years before the Declaration of American Inde- pendence, and assented to by two persons, at least, whose names are affixed to that memorable instrument. The consti- tution, as will be seen, was a compromise between the preroga- tive and popular power. It was by no means easy, in its arrangement, to avoid giving offence to both the crown and the colonies. The jealousy of the latter was as great as that of the former ; and concessions leaning either way would have been instantly rejected. It is, therefore, a high tribute to the wisdom of Franklin that the plan, which he had " the principal hand in framing," was seriously opposed by no one on the roy- alist side but De Lancey, of New York, and that it was ' approved at the time by every member of the congress but ' him.2
As the commissioners from the several governments were desired to lay the foregoing plan before their constituents, and as copies of the same were ordered to be transmitted to the chief magistrates of the unrepresented colonies, there was nothing binding in the action of the congress until confirmed by the assemblies. Before these the matter was brought ; but, when the reports were made by the several delegates, not one was inclined to part with so great a share of power as was to be given to the general government. In England the plan met with a similar fate. It was transmitted, with the other pro- ceedings of the convention, to be laid before the king; but the
1 Trumbull MSS. i. 93, 94 ; John- son, in Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 612-615; Minot, i. 188-198; Trumbull's Con- necticut, ii. 541-544; Chalmers, Re-
volt, ii. 271, 272; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 203-207.
2 For the alleged cause of De Lan- cey's opposition, see 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 77.
181
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SHIRLEY AND FRANKLIN.
Board of Trade, on receiving the minutes, were astonished at the CHAP. character of the draught ; and reflecting men in the old world VII. " dreaded American union as the keystone of independence." 1 1754. Dec.
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A few months later, a private correspondence was carried on between Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, and Benjamin Franklin, who had recently arrived in Boston on a visit to the Oct. home of his childhood, relative to the plan of a union of the colonies.2 Governor Shirley was in favor of an assembly to consist of all the governors and a certain number of the Coun- cil of the colonies, with power to agree upon measures of defence, and to draw upon England for money necessary to execute these measures, to be reimbursed by a tax levied by Parliament. To this scheme Franklin objected in several ingenious letters, which were afterwards published ; 3 and, without opposing a more intimate union with Great Britain by representatives in Parliament, provided a reasonable number was allowed, he, at the same time, urged a repeal of the acts restraining the trade and manufactures of the colonies, as unjust and impolitic. It was of no more importance, in his estima- tion, to the general state, "whether a merchant, a smith, or a hatter grew rich in Old or in New England," than "whether an iron manufacturer lived at Birmingham or Sheffield." If in both cases they were subjects of the king, whatever lib- erties the latter enjoyed should be enjoyed also by the former.4
Early in this year the attention of the General Court was called by Governor Shirley to the encroachments of the French within the limits of Massachusetts ; and a small army was pro- posed to be raised, to march to the eastward to break up the
1 Clarke's Lett. in 1 M. H. Coll. iv. 35; Report of Committee of Connec- icut, in 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 207-214; Hutchinson, iii. 23; Trumbull's Con- hecticut, ii. 355-357 ; Smith's N. Y. i. 180 et seq.
2 Letter of Oliver Partridge, of October 21, in MS. Letters of Israel Williams, vol. i.
3 In the London Magazine for February, 1766. Comp. Franklin's Works, iii. 578, iv. 172; and see Gor- don's Am. Rev. i. 91-94.
4 Hutchinson, iii. 23-25; Frank- lin's Works, iv. 251; Bancroft, iv. 172-175.
1754. Mar. 28.
182
EXPEDITION TO THE EASTWARD.
CHAP. settlements, or, at all events, to secure by forts the passes from VII. Quebec for New England by the way of Kennebec. The gov-
1754. ernor was requested to assume the direction of this affair ; June 2. and embarking for Falmouth, with a quorum of the Council April 9. Jun. 26. and several of the House, a conference was held, and a treaty was made with the Norridgewock and Penobscot Indians, to prevent their being alarmed. The forces which had been raised, consisting of eight hundred men, under John Winslow, of Marshfield, who had served in the Spanish war, were then Aug. ordered to the Kennebec ; and a fort, called Fort Halifax, was built about three quarters of a mile below Taconnet Falls, and thirty-seven miles above Fort Richmond. A second fort was likewise built eighteen miles below the first, at a place called Cushnoc, now the site of the city of Augusta, to which the name of Fort Western was given, in honor of an acquaintance of the governor, resident in Sussex, England. The expedition, however, which originated with Governor Shirley, was of little benefit to the province ; and both French and Indians, relin- quishing the scheme of seizing the British possessions, which had long been agitated, turned their attention to the defence of their own homes.1
Four projects were now devised, in three of which Governor Shirley was more or less concerned.2 Making his own interest his idol, and every thing else subservient, his thirst for renown, which swallowed up all other feelings, led him to scruple at no measures for the attainment of the object which was nearest
1 Mass. Rec's ; Winslow's MS. Journal ; Stirling's Vindication of Shirley, 2-5; Hist. of the War, 119; Mortimer's England, iii. 510, ed. 1766 ; Hutchinson, iii. 25-27; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 88; Minot, i. 184-187; Warburton's Conquest of Canada, ii. 11. Governor Shirley, at the conclu- sion of this expedition, sent despatches to England, informing the ministry of the alarming aspect of affairs in the colonies, and soliciting aid to resist
the encroachments of the French. Mortimer's England, iii. 510.
2 Hist. of the War, 25. It appears that, long before the arrival of Brad- dock, Governor Shirley had made preparation for the prosecution of these enterprises, and had issued com- missions to various officers. See Wil- liams's MSS. i. 107, 108, 113, 114, 115, 117, under dates January 4, Feb- ruary 1, February 10, February 11, March 7, and March 10, 1755.
183
PROJECTS FOR THE WAR.
his heart ; and, though the blandishments of power never occa- CHAP. sioned in him the exile of common sense, the fervor with which VII. he entered into the prosecution of his schemes, and the uncom- 1754. mon application which he brought to bear upon every point, spread an infectious enthusiasm among his associates, and blinded them to the difficulties which must inevitably be en- countered. Mr. Shirley, indeed, seemed never to flag. To fatigue he was a stranger. He was fertile in expedients to meet every emergency. He could perform more labor, and travel more miles, in a given time, than almost any other man in New England. He was here, there, and every where. Profuse in embraces, in compliments, and tears, smiles and caresses were lavished where necessary ; flattery was poured out with prodigal hypocrisy ; and with well-feigned wisdom he could bear his part in the most grave deliberations, duping the unwary by his brilliant harangues, and seducing the discerning to an approval of his measures.1
The first project for the conduct of the war was that in which Braddock, a personal favorite of the Duke of Cumber- land, was the prominent actor. This officer, whose unfortu- nate end is to be attributed chiefly to his own folly, embarked for America in the winter, holding a commission as commander- Dec. 21. in-chief of the colonial forces, and of the English troops which accompanied him. Negotiations were then pending between . England and France, professedly for an amicable adjustment of all matters in dispute ; but the proposals of England - which demanded that France should destroy all her forts as far as the Wabash, raze Niagara and Crown Point, surrender the peninsula of Nova Scotia, with a strip of land twenty leagues wide along the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic, and leave the intermediate country to the St. Lawrence a neu-
1 Washington, like most others, on says, "his every word and action dis- cover in him the gentleman and poli- tician." Letter to Fairfax, April 20, 1755, in Works, ii. 74.
his first introduction to Shirley, was " perfectly charmed " by his " charac- ter and appearances." "I think," he
184
ARRIVAL OF BRADDOCK.
CHAP. tral desert- seemed so preposterous that they were unhes- VII. itatingly rejected. The French king was willing to sacrifice
1754. for peace all but honor and the protection due to his subjects ; but he was unwilling to relinquish all for which he had been so long contending. He would consent that New England should reach on the east to the Penobscot, and be divided from Canada on the north by the summit of the intervening high- lands, and that the valley of the Ohio should be left as neutral territory ; but to ask him to yield more was, in effect, only to prepare the way for the complete subjugation of his dominions in the new world.1
1755. Feb. 20. Towards the last of February the squadron of Commodore Keppel anchored in Hampton Road ; about the middle of Mar. 14 March the transports arrived ; and a month later, by the Apr. 13. orders of Braddock, Shirley and the other governors met him -18. at Alexandria, to consult upon measures for his majesty's ser- vice.2 The general had received positive instructions to con- duct in person an expedition to Fort Du Quesne ; for the pres- ervation of Oswego and the reduction of Niagara, he proposed that the regiments of Shirley and Pepperrell should proceed to Lake Ontario ; a portion of the provincial troops, commanded by General Johnson, was to march to Crown Point; and the New England troops, assembled by his majesty's directions, were to sail to the eastward to reduce the French settlements in Nova Scotia.3
The expedition under Braddock, consisting of twenty-two June 7 hundred men, left Fort Cumberland early in June ; and a to 10. march of over a hundred miles lay before the army to reach its destination. The country through which he was to pass
1 Sargent's Braddock's Expedition, 496; Precis des Faits, 160, 168; 188, 189, 287; Bancroft, iv. 176, 177.
2 Shirley set out for Alexandria the last of March. Letter to Ephraim Williams, of March 29, 1755, in Wil- liams's MSS. i. 121.
3 Journal H. of R. for 1755, 493-
Pouchot's Mems. i. 44-46; Stirling's Vindication of Shirley, 7-11 ; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 90 ; Hutchinson, iii. 31, 32; Johnson, in Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 648- 651; Conspiracy of Pontiac, 93, 94; Sargent's Braddock's Expedition, 132, 133, 300-307.
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185
EXPEDITION OF BRADDOCK.
was a trackless waste- a portion of it not inaptly named the CHAP. Shades of Death ; and innumerable difficulties were to be sur- VII. mounted in traversing so desolate a region, across the Allegha- 1755. nies, through unfrequented woods and dangerous defiles. A scout of six hundred men had been sent in advance, to open May 30. the roads and collect provisions ; 1 but the main body dragged slowly along, with military exactness, heedless of the caution which had been given by Franklin, that " the Indians were dex- terous in laying and executing ambuscades." "The savages," was the self-confident reply of the general, " may be formidable to your raw American militia ; upon the king's regulars and disciplined troops it is impossible they should make any impres- sion." Washington had joined the army at Will's Creek, May 30. before it left Fort Cumberland ; and, better acquainted with the craft of the Indians, he could not but observe with the deepest concern the fatal delusion which had seized upon his superior, and trembled for the consequences which must result from his temerity.
It was no easy task to conduct the movements of an army, encumbered with a load of needless baggage, threading its way with ceaseless toil through the intricacies of a forest abound- ing in quagmires, anon ascending steep, rugged hills, and then descending headlong declivities ; but at length the advanced July 8. body of twelve hundred men, including the four hundred under St. Clair and eight hundred under Braddock, reached the junction of the Monongahela and Youghiogeny, twelve miles distant from Fort Du Quesne. The nature of the ground here debarred the crossing of the stream, and a smoother path was sought. The first passage was easily made ; and the troops, July 9. elated at the prospect before them, though enfeebled by toil and an unwholesome diet, moved proudly down the margin of
1 The whole blame of the failure of this expedition cannot be justly ascribed to Braddock, as it is admitted by Mr. Sparks that there was unwar- rantable, delay in making the neces-
sary arrangements for its prosecution on the part of the contractors who were to furnish the army with sup- plies. Writings of Washington, ii. 77, note.
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186
EXPEDITION OF BRADDOCK.
CHAP. the stream to the stirring music of the drum and the fife, which VII. pealed for the first time upon those vast solitudes, frightening 1755. the jay, which screamed discordantly as it wheeled through the air, and driving to their lairs the wolf and the catamount.
Warned of the approach of the invaders, with the consent of Contrecœur, two hundred and fifty French and Canadians, and six hundred and fifty Indians 1 under Beaujeu, hastened early in the morning to a spot near a brook previously selected for an ambuscade. The narrow road which descended to this stream was tunnelled through deep and gloomy woods, whose sepulchral arches stretched far away, like those of a vast Gothic cathedral ; and two ravines, bordered by trees and bushes, fur- nished a concealment, where the Indians ensconced themselves, and, levelling their guns through the openings in the branches, poured a deadly fire upon the advancing columns. The fierce onset was courageously met, and the general himself pressed forward to share the danger and animate his troops; but all was in vain. The combat was desperate, and column after column of the English were slain. Of eighty-six officers twenty-six were killed and thirty-seven were wounded ; of the men more than half were killed or wounded. Sir Peter Hal- ket was among the killed ; and young Shirley, the son of the governor and the secretary of Braddock, was shot through the head. Gage, who led the vanguard, and who, twenty years later, saw his routed battalions recoil in disorder before the murderous fire from the breastwork on Bunker's Hill, was among the wounded ; as were Colonel Burton and Sir John Sinclair. Gates, the future conqueror of Burgoyne, escaped unharmed, as did also Washington, though two horses were shot under him, and four balls pierced his coat. Five horses were disabled under the commander-in-chief ; at last a bullet pierced his side, and he fell. The rout was complete ; and July 13. four days after, as the army retreated, Braddock died. To
1 Such is the French account. Doc'ts in Mass. Archives, ix. 211.
187
SHIRLEY'S EXPEDITION.
the traveller, who passes over the national road, his grave is CHAP. still pointed out, about a mile from Fort Necessity.1 VII.
The second expedition, under Shirley and Pepperrell, was to 1755. proceed to Lake Ontario for the preservation of Oswego and the reduction of Niagara. Mr. Shirley, after the consultation Apr. 18. at Alexandria, returned by the way of New York and Hartford May 13. to Boston, to prepare for the discharge of this trust ; and hav- ing attended an assembly for the election of councillors, and May 28. transacted other business relative to the campaign, he left the capital in the province sloop to proceed to the westward. The Jun. 28. tidings of Braddock's defeat and death reached Boston subse- July 23. quent to his departure; and as he arrived at Albany in about July 10. a fortnight, the news was not communicated to him until he had left for Oswego. By this event the chief command of the July 30. forces of the country devolved upon him ; and he was in the position to which he had long aspired, with no superior on this side of the Atlantic, and on the high road to honor and distinc- tion in England. As may well be supposed, to one of his tem- perament, who had been looking forward for years to this consummation of his wishes, there was a slight degree of intox-
1 On Braddock's expedition, see French Doc'ts in Mass. Archives, ix. 211; Winslow's MS. Journal, fols. 136 -141; Letter to the People of Eng- land, 33 et seq. ; Hist. of the War, 23-25; Pouchot's Mems. i. 37-44 ; Smith's Narr. ; Entick, i. 143; Chaun- cy's Lett. on Ohio Defeat, 4; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 91-94; 2 M. H. Coll. viü. 153 -157; Hutchinson, iii. 32 ; Mortimer's England, 514; Chalmers, Revolt, ii. 275; Sparks's Washington, ii. 86-88, 473; Warburton's Conquest of Can- ada, ii. 16-26; Conspiracy of Pontiac, 94-101; Bancroft, iv. 184-192; Hil- dreth, ii. 459-461. After his return from this expedition, Washington wrote from Mount Vernon, August 2, 1755, " It is true we have been beat- en, shamefully beaten by a handful of men, who only intended to molest and disturb our march. Victory was their
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