USA > New York > The natural, statistical, and civil history of the state of New-York, v. 3 > Part 24
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cer had expressed himself with great contempt of the comman- der-in-chief.
The people of Pennsylvania too, chagrined at losing their capital, and unmindful of their own backwardness in strength- ening the army, blamed Washington, because he had not, with inferior forces, prevented it and gained splendid victories. The legislature of that state, on the report that he was marching his army into winter quarters, sent a remonstrance to Congress which manifested their disaffection. About this time the board of war, of which Gates was president, appointed General Con- way inspector and major-general, without regard to rank.
The machinations which were carrying on against the com- mander-in-chief did not escape his notice ; but they did not in the slightest degree change his measures. His desire to con- tinue at the head of the armies, flowed from the conviction, that in that station he might be useful to his country.
Fortunately for America, the machinations of General Gates and the disaffected members of Congress, were prostrated.
But to return again to the operations of the armies. Washi- ington, to anticipate General Howe, who it was understood had contemplated a post at Wilmington, detached General Small- wood to that place. .
To recruit the army for the ensuing campaign was an object of the utmost consideration. From the depreciation of the paper currency, and other causes, little or no hope remained of obtaining any respectable number of men by voluntary enlist- ments, and coercive means could only be employed by the re- spective states. To persuade them to comply required all the influence of Washington ; and his letters urged them to meet . with sufficient means the crisis of the war, which was now ap- proaching.
He exhorted them to place no confidence in foreign aid, but to depend on their own strength and resources, for the mainte- nance of their independence. He enclosed to each state, a return of its troops on the continental establishment, showing its deficiency which each was urged to supply.
In addition to the other evils which menaced the destruction
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of the army, the depreciation of the paper money had become so considerable, and the embarrassments under which com- merce laboured, had so enhanced the price of articles imported, that the pay of an officer was no compensation, and would not even furnish him with absolute necessaries, which might give him a decent appearance, or cover his person from the extremes of heat and cold. Those possessing small estates, found them melting away, and others were unable to appear befitting their rank. 1
In an army raised, as was that of the United States, great inequality of character among the officers was to be expected. The hard and active service was well calculated to ascertain the . merit of each individual. It was necessary to purge the army . of persons unfit to hold commissions ; and the number of the sentences of the courts-martial, manifested their determination to do so ; yet a surplus number of officers still remained, so in- complete were the regiments; some who were unable to support themselves, tendered their commissions to the commander-in- chief. Among these were no inconsiderable number who pro- mised to be most the ornaments of the army. Nor could the hope be entertained, that the mischief would stop with the mere loss of officers whose continuance in service might promote the public good.
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A general indifference about holding a commission ; a gen- eral opinion that an obligation was conferred, and not received, by continuing in the army, were very unfavourable not only to that spirit of emulation, which stimulates to warlike deeds, than are required, but to a complete execution of orders.
An officer, whose pride was wounded, whose caprice was not indulged, who apprehended censure for a fault, was ready to throw up his commission.
Washington watched with anxiety the progress of a temper which he feared would increase and be attended with fatal ef- fects.
The weak condition of the regiments, the remoustrances of' the general, and the complaints from every quarter, determined Congress to depute a committee of their body, who should -
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reside in the camp, during the winter, and in concert with the general, investigate the state of the army, and report such re- forms as the public good seemed to require.
This committee repaired to head-quarters in January. The commander-in-chief laid before them a statement, in which a view was taken of the army, and in which remedies for the cor- rection of existing evils, as well as regulations essential to the future prosperity of the army, were designated.
The wants and distresses of the army, when seen by the committee, made on them a deep impression. They commu- nicated to Congress the sentiments which were occasioned in their own bosoms, and urged a speedy correction. But Con- gress proceeded slowly in applying remedies. Much of the sufferings of the army was attributed to neglect in the quarter- master's department. The committee laboured to remove these impressions. . Plans were devised by that body, but from their inutility were never approved in the camp. Not long after, the commissary-general of purchases was placed at the head of his department.
The number of regiments, and the apportionment on each state, were taken by Congress, as suggested by Washington, and it was resolved that the several states be required forthwith to fill up, by draughts from their militia, or in any other way that should be effectual, their quotas of continental troops.
While Congress was slowly deliberating on the reforms pro- posed, the distresses of the army were drawing to a crisis, and its dissolution was threatened. Early in February the com- missaries gave notice that the country, to a great distance, was exhausted ; and that it would be impracticable to obtain sup- plies for the army longer than to the end of that month. The general-in-chief, under these circumstances, wrote to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, urging him, if possible, to send on supplies. He detached General Wayne into the neighbour- hood of Philadelphia, with orders to seize all horses fit for cavalry or for draught-all cattle and sheep, as well as every species of forage proper for the use of the army.
The inhabitants endeavoured, as much as possible, to defeat VOL. III.
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the object of the foraging parties. They secreted their provi- sions and teams, which gave the country the appearance of having been pillaged. Before sufficient aids could be furnish- ed by these means, the provisions in the camp were exhausted. Thus the troops were destitute of meat, and many of the horses died for want of fodder.
. In this exigency, Washington left no means untried to sub- sist his army. He sent General Greene out, with a numerous detachment, to procure, by any means, immediate supplies .- 1
Captain Lee was ordered to the states of Delaware and Mary- land, and Colonel Tilghman to New-Jersey. At the same time he wrote letters to Congress and the state governors, urg- ing them to exert themselves, in order to procure reliefs for the army.
Happily for America, Washington, from his great talents, was enabled, notwithstanding the discordant materials of which his army was composed, to attach the officers and soldiers generally to his person. To this is to be attributed the preser- vation of the forces under his immediate command, and under situations the most trying.
In the mean time, the army obtained supplies of provisions, which saved it from the impending famine which menaced its dissolution. The strong measures resorted to produced tem- porary relief.
About the beginning of February, the terms of the militia of Pennsylvania, stationed northeast of the Schuylkill, expired, and they returned home, and those called out to succeed them, did not arrive for some time.
In this interval, while the avenues leading to Philadelphia were unguarded, the enemy obtained considerable supplies from the country.
At no period of the war had the American army been re- duced to a situation of greater peril, than during the winter at Valley Forge. Had the enemy marched out of Philadelphia in force, the American army could not have continued in camp. The want of provisions would have forced them out of it ; and their deplorable condition, in respect to clothes, would have
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prevented them from keeping the field. The returns made on the first day of February, show that three thousand nine hun- dred and eighty-nine men in camp, were unable to do duty, for want of clothes. Of this number scarcely a soldier had shoes. Even among those returned capable of doing duty, many were so badly clothed, that exposure to the severity of the weather would have destroyed them. Although the total of the army exceeded seventeen thousand men, the effective rank and file scarcely exceeded five thousand.
While the sufferings of the soldiers, first during a winter campaign, and afterwards in what were termed winter-quarters, filled the hospitals with the sick-a dreadful mortality prevailed. The provision made for them, which at best, was inadequate, was misapplied. They were crowded in small apartments, and a putrid fever raged among them which carried off great numbers.
Fortunately for America, the real condition of the army was not well known to General Howe, and that officer had ever been careful of the lives and comfort of his troops. On no occasion had he manifested a disposition to hazard them with- out a clear advantage. In this particular instance, a winter's expedition against the army at Valley Forge, would have been extremely detrimental to the cause of America. But General Howe confined his operations to small excursions that were calculated to enlarge the comforts of his army, which was much distressed for fuel and forage. The vigilence of the Americans on the lines, intercepted a great proportion of the supplies designed for the British army.
While the defect in the resources, arising from the deprecia .. tion of the bills of credit, manifested itself in all the military departments, a plan was matured in Congress, and the board of war, for a second invasion of Canada. It was proposed to place the Marquis de La Fayette at the head of the army, des- tined for this enterprise, and he accordingly was appointed a major-general.
General de La Fayette, after his appointment, repaired to Albany, in order to place himself at the head of the troups
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destined for this service. But soon after his arrival at the latter place, he abandoned the enterprise. This step was ren- dered necessary in consequence of a want of men.
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While the army lay at Valley Forge, the Baron Steuben, a a very meritorious officer, arrived at the camp. The Baron had been an officer in the Prussian service, and came highly recom- mended. He was well versed in military tactics, and in every respect qualified to instruct raw troops. He claimed no rank, and only proffered his services as a volunteer. In this capacity he performed them so satisfactorily to Washington, that Con- gress promoted him to the rank of major-general, conditioned to perform the duties of inspector-general.
The Baron soon established one system of military tactics in the American armies.
. The surrender of the army of Burgoyne, as has been here- tofore stated, made a strong impression on the British nation. This impression, by and by, forced its way into the cabinet, where a plan of pacification was agreed upon,
After the repetition of several motions on the part of the opposition, tending to the abandonment of the war in America, Lord North gave notice in the house of commons, that he had matured a plan of reconciliation between Great Britain and her colonies, which he intended speedily to lay before the house. Conformable to this notice, he moved to bring in, " first-A bill for removing all doubts and apprehensions concerning taxation by Parliament, in the colonies of North America.
" Second-A bill to enable his Majesty to appoint com- missioners to treat upon the means of quieting the disorders subsisting in certain of the American colonies."
The first contained a declaration that Parliament would im- pose no tax or duty whatever, payable within any of the colo- nies of North America, except only such duties as it may be expedient to impose for the purposes of commerce, the net produce of which should always be paid and applied to, and for the use of the colonies in which the same shall be respec- tively levied, in like manner as other duties collected under the authority of their respective legislatures are paid and applied.
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The second authorized the appointment of commissioners, with power to treat , either with the constituted authorities, or with individuals in America ; provided that no stipulations en- tered into should have any effect until approved in Parliament.
It then enacted, that the commissioners should have power to proclaim a cessation of hostilities in all or any of the colo- nies, suspend the non-intercourse law, and so much of all or any of the acts, passed since the tenth of February, 1763, as related to the colonies.
" To grant pardons to any number or descriptions of per- sons, and to appoint governors in those colonies in which his . Majesty had formerly appointed them."
The latter act was limited to the first day of June, 1779. These bills passed both houses of Parliament.
As intelligence was received by the minister, about the time of their being introduced, that a treaty had been concluded between the United States and France, copies of these bills, after their first reading, and before they had gone through the requisite forms, were hurried to America, to be Jaid before Congress and the public, in the hope that they might counter- act the effects which the treaty might produce.
Washington, immediately on the arrival of the bills, trans- mitted them to Congress, to the end, that they might take them up and act on them.
In the mean time. General Tryon, the British governor of New-York, wrote to Washington, enclosing him a copy of the bills, and recommending to him, that through him they might be made known to the army under his command.
Congress referred the bills to Messrs. Morris, Dana and Dayton, three of their body, who reported that the said bills were intended to operate on the hopes and fears of the people of the United States, so as to create divisions among them, and a defection from the common cause, now drawing towards a favourable issue : And that any men, or body of men, who should presume to make any separate convention with the con- missioners of Great Britain, ought to be considered as enemies of the United States.
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The committee further reported, that these United States could not with propriety hold any conference or treaty with the commissioners of Great Britain, unless they should either with- draw their armies and fleets, or else acknowledge the indepen- dence of these states.
The committee concluded, by recommending to Congress to call on the several states to use their utmost exertions in bring- ing their respective quotas of troops into the field ; and that all the militia of the several states ought to hold themselves in rea- diness to act when called on.
The foregoing report and the concurring resolutions of Con- gress were published. The next day Congress passed resolu- tions, recommending to the different states to pardon those of their countrymen who had taken up arms against the United States.
During these transactions the French frigate La Sensible arrived with intelligence, that treaties of alliance and commerce had been formed between France and the United States. The joy which this event diffused throughout the country was un- bounded.
' France, the rival of Great Britain, had viewed with satisfac- tion the revolt of the United States and their success. She wished that the latter might be despoiled of her American pos- sessions, as she had been. Still France did not wish to enter into a war with Great Britain.
Very early in the contest the attention of the American go- vernment had been directed to foreign powers, and particularly to France. The want of arms, ammunition, and clothing, had induced, in 1775, the appointment of agents to procure them abroad,
Soon afterwards, Mr. Silas Deane was deputed to France, , with instructions to sound the cabinet, and to procure military supplies. Mr. Deane obtained a sufficient quantity to load three vessels, but owing to the influence of the British minister at the court of Versailles, he was prevented from forwarding them to America.
The declaration of independence in America, however, had
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a favourable effect in France. Supplies for carrying on the war were privately furnished. The French court, as it foresaw that an acknowledgment of American independence would occasion a rupture with Great Britain, declined entering into a treaty. In the mean time, the American ships were per- mitted to enter the French ports, and every facility was given to obtain munitions of war. Mr. Deane was told, that an ac- knowledgment of our independence, unaccompanied with war, would be of no service, and that if France should be compelled to make war on Great Britain, it would be much more honour- able to make it on some other account, and if made at all, it was the same thing to the United States.
" Thus France declined taking any part in the quarrel, but gave assurances that the indulgencies heretofore allowed would be continued. The Americans continued to ship military stores. The British minister remonstrated. The court of France for- bid the vessels sailing, although it afterwards privately permit- ted them to sail. Orders were issued, that American prizes should not be sold in the ports of France, and afterwards the orders were countermanded, or not carried into effect.
The treaty concluded with France was very advantageous to the United States. It was a treaty of alliance, eventual and de- fensive, between the two nations, in which it was declared, that if war should break out between France and Great Britain during the existence of that with the United States, it should be made a common cause, and that neither of the contracting par- ties should conclude either truce or peace with Great Britain, without the consent of the other.
In a few weeks after the treaty was consummated, the Mar- quis de Noailles announced it to the court of St. James. The . British government considered this notification as a declaration of war, and forthwith published a memorial, justifying hostili- ties against France.
The Congress, on receiving the dispatches containing the treaties, convened and ratified them by a unanimous vote .- Congress passed a resolution, expressive of their high consider. ation of his most Christian Majesty's magnanimity.
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From events which were the sources of unbounded exultation in the United States, it is necessary to direct. the attention of the reader to the condition of the prisoners.
In modern times custom and usage have introduced laws, in relation to carrying on war and treating prisoners, which were unknown to the ancients. In wars, therefore, between inde- pendent states, the laws do not sanction the laying waste of a country, the murder and captivity of its inhabitants, or the taking of private property without pay. Nor do they sanction bad treatment to such as are taken prisoners in the service of the state. In wars between nations possessing independence
and acknowledged rights, a departure from established custom and usage, seldom occurs; but in wars between the members of different parts of the same state, the customs and usages of war are often departed from. Those in favour of government, or the ancient order of things, consider resistance as rebellion, and look on the prisoners as traitors, whose lives are forfeited. In the contest between the United States and Great Britain, which was a contest of right on the part of America, the people of America never admitted that the British government was justified in departing from the common usages of war. They expected that those whom chance might throw in the power of the enemy, would be treated in every respect according to mo- dern usage. In this respect their expectations were not realiz- ed. Perhaps the treatment of some of the loyalists by the Americans may have led to a severity on the part of the enemy, which would not have been exercised under different circum- stances. Neither General Howe nor Lord Howe appear, from their general conduct or sentiments, to have possessed that fe- rocity of temper, or that furious and bigotted zeal, which could induce them to increase wantonly the miseries of the wretched, or to dispense, in the case of American prisoners, with an ob- servance of the rights of humanity, yet there were facts which - authorize a belief, that some of the subordinate officers under them did bury the milder feelings which belong to man, in order to increase the miseries of the unfortunate persons who were iu their power.
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"The misfortunes of the American prisoners was heightened by a disagreement between the commanders, in relation to the exchange. .
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Their sufferings increased, with the increasing severity of the season. And to add still more to it, their country had not furnished them with clothing and blankets, and they were by - no means supplied with wood. They suffered equally from fa- mine. Repeated remonstrances were made to the British ge- neral on this subject, but he denied the fact. At length, how- ever, a partial exchange of prisoners was agreed upon, but by far the greater number was detained, in consequence of an im- politic resolution of Congress, which Washington, with much difficulty, got repealed.
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About the middle of March, General Howe detached Colonel Mawhood, from Philadelphia, into New-Jersey, with twelve hundred men. These landed at Salem, near Reedy Island, and dispersed the militia under Colonels Hand and Holme. The enemy, in this expedition, committed great depredations.
Not long after the incursion into New-Jersey, General Howe planed an expedition against General Lacy, who guarded the roads leading to Philadelphia, on the north side of the Schuyl- kill. This expedition he entrusted to Colonel Abercrombie, who, surprised that general and his militia, and entirely dispers- ed them. The enemy soon after destroyed several vessels at Bordentown in New-Jersey, together with the stores collected at that place.
In May Washington sent the Marquis de La Fayette, from Valley Forge, with upwards of two thouand men, to annoy the rear of the British army, should they evacuate Philadelphia. La Fayette marched to Barren Hill, about nine miles distant, where he took post. General Howe, on being apprised of this movement, detached General Grant with five thousand men to surprise and cut him off. That general proceeded by night, with the utmost secrecy, on the road leading up the Delaware for a short distance ; when leaving it, he advanced upon the rear of the Marquis, which placed him in a perilous condition. The VOL. III. 35
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latter, however, on obtaining intelligence of this, retired imme- diately to Matson's Ford, on the Schuylkill, and repassed that river, and encamped on the high grounds. Grant, finding him- seli foiled, fell back upon Philadelphia.
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About this time General Howe was succeeded in the com- mand by Sir Henry Clinton, who made dispositions for the evacuation of Philadelphia. The preparations for this move- ment were soon made known to Washington, who called in without delay all his detachments, and placed his army in a situation to march at any moment. As soon as it was ascer- tained that Sir Henry Clinton intended to reach New-York, by passing through New-Jersey, Washington ordered General Maxwell, with the New-Jersey brigade, to cross the river Dela- ware, and join Major-general Dickenson, who was assembling the militia of the latter state.
On the eighteenth of June the British troops left Philadel- phia, passed the Delaware, and encamped at Gloucester Point in New-Jersey. On being informed of this,, Washington de- camp-d from Valley Forge, and proceeded by forced marches to the Delaware, which he crossed on the twenty-second of the same month, and encamped at Hopewell. While at the latter place, Colonel Morgan was commanded to go with his riflemen and assault the right flank of the Fritish army.
Sir Henry Clinton was now encamped at Allentown. Hope- well, where the main body of the American army was, is about five miles from Princeton. The Generals Maxwell and Dicken- son, with their troops, hung on the left flank of the enemy, while General Cadwallader, with one thousand men, lagged on their rear. On the twenty-fourth of June, Washington marched from Hopewell, in order to give battle to the British. The Generals Scott and Wayne were already sent on, with strong detachments, to strengthen those who were on the lines. On the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth, dispositions were made for a grand battle. The continentals, now in front of the main army, were four thousand men, and were under the Marquis La Fayette. Wash- ington directed the Marquis to form a junction with the Gene- rals Scott and Dickenson, and then attack the van of the ene-
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