USA > New York > The natural, statistical, and civil history of the state of New-York, v. 3 > Part 34
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the redoubt, with the loss of eight men killed and twenty-eight wounded. The latter were led by Colonel Alexander Ha- milton. The French were equally successful on their part : they carried the redoubt assigned to them with rapidity. The troops in both were made prisoners. The reduction of these redoubts facilitated the operations of the besiegers. The Bri- tish, to the number of four hundred men, headed by Lieutenant- colonel Abercrombie, made a sortie on the sixteenth, and spiked eleven cannon, but this sortie produced no essential advantage. By this time the batteries of the allies were covered with nearly one hundred pieces of cannon, and the works of the besieged were soon so damaged that they could scarcely show a single guh. Lord Cornwallis had now no hope left, but from offering terms of capitulation or attempting an escape ;- he determined . on the latter. Boats were prepared to receive the troops in the night, and to transport them to Gloucester-Point. After one whole embarkation had crossed, a violent storm of wind and rain dispersed the boats employed on this business, and frus- trated the scheme. Orders were sent to those who had passed the river to return to Yorktown. With the failure of this scheme the last hope of the British army expired. Longer resistance was unavailing ; Lord Cornwallis, therefore, wrote a letter to Wash- ington, requesting a suspension of arms for twenty-four hours, and that commissioners might be appointed to arrange terms of capitulation.
The posts of York and Gloucester were surrendered on the nineteenth of October. The troops were to be prisoners of war to America, and the naval forces to France. The honor of march- ing out with colours flying, which had been refused to General Lincoln on his giving up Charleston, was now refused to Corn- wallis ; and General Lincoln was appointed to receive the sub- mission of the royal army, in the way his own had been con- ducted about eighteen months before.
The French troops employed in this siege were seven thou- sand men, and the Americans, five thousand five hundred con- tinentals and four thousand militia. On the part of the combined army, about three hundred were killed or wounded. On the part
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of the British, about five hundred and seventy were taken in the redoubts which had been stormed. The troops of every kind that surrendered prisoners of war exceeded seven thousand men; but so great was the number of the sick and wounded, that there were only three thousand eight hundred capable of bearing arms. Brigadiers General Du Portail and Knox were both pro- moted to the rank of Major-generals on account of their services.
.A British fleet and an army of seven thousand men, destined for the relief of Lord Cornwallis, arrived off the Chesapeake on the twenty-fourth of October ; but, on receiving advice of his lordship's surrender, they returned to New-York. The loss of. his army may be considered as closing the war in America.
The troops under Lord Cornwallis had spread considerable waste over the face of the country for four hundred miles on the sea coast, and for two hundred miles to the westward. Their marches from Charleston to Camden, from Camden to the river Dan, from the Dan through North Carolina to Wilmington, from Wilmington to Petersburgh, and from Petersburgh through many parts of Virginia, till they finally settled in Yorktown, made a rout of more than eleven hundred miles. Every place , through which they passed experienced the effects of their rapa- city. Their numbers, added to the unwarlike disposition of many of the inhabitants, enabled them to go whithersoever they pleased. The reduction of such an army occasioned transports of joy to the people throughout the United States
While the combined armies of America and France were marching to the siege of Yorktown, an excursion was made from New-York by a body of British troops, which was attended with no small loss to the Americans. General Arnold, who had lately returned from Virginia, was appointed to conduct an ex- pedition, the object of which was the town of New-London, in the state of Connecticut. The troops employed therein were landed on the sixth of September, in two detachments on each side of the harbour. The one was commanded by Lieutenant- colonel Eyre, and the other by Arnold. The latter met with little opposition. Fort Trumbull and a redoubt which was in- tended to cover the harbour, not being tenable, were evacuated,
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and the men crossed the river to Fort Griswold, on Groton Hill. This was attacked by Lieutenant-colonel Eyre. The garrison defended themselves with resolution ; but, after a conflict of forty minutes, the fort was carried by the assailants. The Americans had not more than six or seven men killed when the British carried their lines; but a severe execution took place after- wards, though resistance had ceased. Colonel Ledyard, the commandant, was killed after he had presented his sword. Be- tween thirty and forty were killed or wounded, and about forty were carried off prisoners. On the side of the British, forty- eight were killed, and one hundred and forty-five wounded. About fifteen vessels, loaded with the effects of the inhabitants, retreated up the river, and four others remained in the harbour unhurt, but all excepting these were burned by the communi- cation of fire from the burning stores. Sixty dwelling houses and eighty-four stores were reduced to ashes, and the loss which the Americans sustained by the destruction of naval stores, of provisions and merchandise was immense. General Arnold, having completed the object of his expedition, returned in eight days to New-York.
· The year 1781 terminated in all parts of the United States in favour of the Americans. It began with imbecility in the Ca- rolinas, devastation in Virginia, and mutiny in New-Jersey ; nevertheless, in its close the British were confined to their strong holds in or near New-York, Charleston and Savannah, and their whole army in Virginia was captured. The whole cam- paign passed away on their part without one valuable conquest, or the acquisition of any post or place from which higher pur- poses were answered than destroying public stores, or distressing individuals. 'The highly important services rendered by the French to the Americans led, in a great measure, to results so favourable.
The Cherokee Indians having forgot the consequences of provoking the Americans to invade their set lements in the year 1776, made an incursion into Ninety Six District, in South Carolina, in 1781, massacred some families. and burned several houses. General Pickens collected a party of the militia, and
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penetrated into their country. This he accomplished in four- teen days, at the head of four hundred horsemen. In that short space, he burned thirteen towns and villages, and killed up- wards of forty Indians, and took a number of prisoners, without losing a man, None of the expeditions against the Cherokees had been so rapid and decisive as this one. On this occasion, a new and successful mode of fighting them was introduced. The Americans rushed forward on horseback, and charged the Cherokees with drawn swords. The vanquished Cherokees again sued for peace in the most submissive terms, and obtained it, but not till they had promised that instead of listening to the advice of the royalists, instigating them to war, they would de- liver up all who should visit them on that errand.
See Ramsey's History of the Revolutionary War, &
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CHAPTER XII.
After the capture of Cornwallis, Washington returns to the vi- cinity of New- York-General Wayne is sent by General Greene to Georgia -- General Wayne defeats Colonel Brown near Savannah-Slavery a source of weakness-The French take Demarara, &c .- Admiral Rodney defeats Count de Grasse, in a naval action-John Adams prevails on the govern- ment of the Netherlands to acknowledge the Independence of the United States-He negociates a loan, &c .- The Parlia- ment of Great Britain recommend a discontinuance of offensive operations in the United States-A new Ministry formed in Great Britain-Sir Guy Carleton, the General-in-chief of the British armies in America, propose to Congress to treat of Peace-Congress decline to treat without it be in conjunction with France-John Adams, John Jay, Dr. Franklin and Henry Laurens agree with the Ministers of Great Britain on preliminaries of peace-Treatment of American prisoners- Calamities of the war-Banetul effects of Committees of pub- lic safety-Discharge of the American army-One of the of- ficers publishes to the troops, a seditious address-Washington convenes the oficers and counteracts the intended effects of the address-Some of the troops in Pennsylvania mutiny, and surround the State-house and the Hall of Congress-Wash- ington issues his farewell address to the army-The City of New- York evacuated by the British-Washington, with a nu- merous suite makes his triumphal entry into the City of New- York-Washington takes leave of his officers, and leaves New- York for Mount Vernon, his residence-On his way he store at Annapolis, and resigns to Congress his commission.
AFTER the taking of Lord Cornwallis, Washington, with the greatest part of his army, returned to the neighbourhood of New-York. He was in no condition to attempt the reduction
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of the post at that city, and the royal army had good reason: for not urging hostilities without their lines. An obstruction of the communication between the city and country, some indeci- sive skirmishes and predatory excursions were the principal evi- dences of an existing state of the war. This, in a great mea- sure, was the case in South Carolina and Georgia. From De- cember, 1781, General Greene had possession of all the former state, Charleston and the vicinity excepted. The British some- times sallied out of their lines, for the acquisition of property and provisions, but never for the purpose of conquest. In op- posing one of these in August, 1782, near Combahee, Lieuten- ant-colonel John Laurens was mortally wounded.
At the commencement of 1782, the British had a more exten- sive range in Georgia, than in any other of the United States. From the unsuccessful issue of the assault on Savannah, in 1779, that state had eminently suffered the desolations of war. Poli- tical hatred raged to such a degree, that the blood of the citi- zens was daily shed by the hands of each other, contending un- der the names of whigs and tories. Some of the former kept together in the western settlements, and exercised the powers of government. The whole extent between these and Savan- nah, was subject to the alternate ravages of these violent parties. After the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, General Greene, being reinforced by the Pennsylvania line, was enabled to detach Go- neral Wayne, with a part of the southern army, to Georgia .- General Clarke, who commanded in Savannah, on hearing of their advance, sent orders to the officers in the outposts, to burn . as far as they could, all the provisions in the country, and then to retire within the lines, at the capital. The country being evacuated by the British, the governor with his council, re- turned from Augusta to Ebenezer.
Colonel Brown, with a considerable force, marched out of Savannah with the apparent intention of attacking the Ameri- cans. General Wayne, by a skilful movement, gained his rear, attacked him about midnight, and routed his whole party .- Some Creek Indians, headed by their chiefs, made a furious attack on Wayne's infantry, in the night. For a few minutes,
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they possessed themselves of his field-pieces, but they were re- covered. In the mean time, Colonel White, with a party of cavalry came up and pressed hard upon them. Both sides en- gaged in close quarters. The Creeks displayed uncommon bravery, but were at length routed. Shortly after this affair, a period was put to the calamities of war in that state. In three months after the capture of Lord Cornwallis was known in Great Britain, the parliament resolved to abandon all offen- sive operations in America. In consequence thereof, every idea of conquest being given up, arrangements were made about the middle of July, for withdrawing the royal forces from Georgia, and South Carolina. In about five months after, the British left Georgia, they withdrew their force from South Ca- . rolina.
South Carolina and Georgia lost upwards of twenty-four thousand slaves. These retired with the enemy who emanci- . pated them. Slavery is a source of weakness to states. In the revolution, the southern states were unable to cope with the enemy. The population consisted of two classes, the free and the bond. The latter was the most numerous. It had nothing to lose, but much to gain. In the contest between the United States and Great Britain, the blacks were passive spectators .- It was not their interest to take part in the defence of a coun- try which enslaved them, and in which there was nothing that they could call their own. The enemy would have emancipat- ed all of them that would have taken up arms, had not that enemy had many slaves in the West India Islands.
The northern and middle states, in which there were only a few slaves, had from time to time to send troops to the south. These troops kept alive the contest, straitened the enemy's quarters, and at length compelled him to abandon those states. It was otherwise in the northern and middle states. There the white population was considerable. This population had an interest in the soil ; it had every thing at stake. That interest led the people to defend the soil. The enemy's army, although more than three times as numerous in these states, could never make any conquests. The enemy knew that the northern aud VOL. III. 49
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middle states were the soul of the revolution. They, therefore, exerted themselves to conquer those states, and it was not be- fore they completely failed, that they made attempts to conquer the southern states. The forces employed for this purpose, did not surpass the garrison ordinarily kept at New-York; but with these they took Charleston, Savannah, and other places, and overrun Georgia, the Carolinas, and most of Virginia .- They marched almost where they pleased, and with little oppo- sition, except from the continental troops. After the battle of Camden, most of the inhabitants submitted or declined to act. At Camden, the militia left the field without scarcely opposing the enemy. The hardy veterans of the north were thus borne down by an overwhelming force. At Guilford, Greene and his continentals were forsaken by most of the militia. Those from North Carolina fled when the enemy were at the distance of · one hundred and forty yards. Every thing would have been lost, had it not been for the bravery of the continentals ; and yet in the battle of Guilford Lord Cornwallis had only two thousand four hundred men. In New-England, New-York, New-Jersey and Pennsylvania, the enemy could not have maintained himself a week with such a force. Lord Cornwal- lis traversed above one thousand miles of the southern states, with a handful of men. In the northern states, General Bur- goyne, with ten thousand, could not penetrate from the head of Lake Champlain to Albany, a distance of only seventy miles. The forces of Lord Cornwallis were never considerable, till his junction with the troops of General Philips, near Richmond, in Virginia, and then they did not much, if any, exceed eight thousand men. This army surrendered to the northern troops and the French. After this event, new troops were sent to the south. These soon compelled the enemy to relinquish every hope of conquest, and ultimately to evacuate all their posts in the south, and retire to the city of New-York, which was their head quarters.
. Though in the year 1782, the United States afforded few great events, the reverse was the case with the other powers in- volved in the consequences of the American war.
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'Minorca, after a tedious siege, surrendered to the Spaniards, on the fifth of February, 1782. About the same time, the set- tlements of Demerara and Essequibo, which in the preceding year had been taken by the British, were taken by the French. under the Marquis de Bouille. The French also reduced St. Eustatia and St. Kitts. The islands of Nevis and Montserrat followed the fortune of St. Kitts. The marine strength of France and Spain had never been so powerful before in the New World. Their combined navies in the West Indies amounted to sixty ships of the line, besides frigates and other armed vessels. With these they entertained hopes of wresting from the British a great part of their West India Islands.
In the mean time, the British prepared a powerful fleet for the protection of their possessions in that quarter. This was com- manded by Admiral Rodney, and amounted, after a junction with Sir Samuel Hood's squadron and the arrival of three ships from Great Britain, to thirty sail of the line.
It was the intention of Count de Grasse, who commanded the French fleet at Martinique, amounting to thirty-four sail of the line, to proceed to Hispaniola, or Hayti, and join the Spanish fleet of sixteen sail of the line, under Don Solano, and then to attempt the reduction of Jamaica. This was in the early part of April.
The British admiral wished to prevent this junction, or at least to force an engagement before it was effected. Admiral Rodney came up with Count de Grasse soon after he had set out to join the Spanish fleet at Hispaniola. Partial engagements took place on the three first days after they came near each other. In these, two of the French ships were so much da- maged that they were obliged to quit the fleet. On the fifteenth a general action took place ; this was commenced at seven in the morning, and continued till past six in the evening. There was no apparent superiority on either side till between twelve and one o'clock, when Rodney broke the French line of battle, and penetrated through it. The land forces destined for the expedition against Jamaica, amounting to five thousand five hundred men, were distributed on board the French fleet. Their
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ships were therefore so crowded, that the slaughter was pro- digious. The battle was fought on both sides with equal spirit, but with an unequal issue, owing to the superiority of the Bri- tish. The fleet of the latter consisted of thirty-six sail of the line, besides frigates ; that of the former of thirty-two, exclu- sive of frigates. The French lost in this action eight sail of the line. This was truly an unfortunate day to the gallant Count de Grasse. His behaviour throughout the whole action was intrepid, and his resistance continued till he and two more were the only men left standing. upon the upper deck. The ships of the defeated squadron fled in a variety of directions. Twenty-three or twenty-four sail made their way to Cape Francois. It was fortunate for the Americans that this success of the British was posterior to their loss in Virginia. As the catastrophe of Yorktown closed the national war in the United States, so the defeat of the French fleet in a great measure put a period to hostilities in the West Indies.
The capture of the British army in Virginia, the defeat of the French fleet, and the destruction of the Spanish floating batteries before Gibraltar, inculcated on Great-Britain, France, and Spain, the policy of sheathing the sword, and stopping the effusion of human blood. Each nation found on a review of past events, that their losses were great, and their gains very little or nothing. By urging the American war, Great Britain had increased her national debt four hundred and fifty. millions of dollars, and wasted the lives of two hundred thousand men. To add to her mortification she had brought all this on herself by pursuing an object, the attainment of which seemed to be daily less probable. While Great Britain, France, and Spain, were brought to think favourably of peace, the United States had the consolation of a public acknowledgment of their inde- pendence by a second power in Europe. This was effected by John Adams, Esq. who was afterwards raised to the exalted station of President of the United States. No individual in the United States ever rendered more important services in the ca- binet and councils of the nation than this distinguished person, and no one has ever been more unjustly calumniated, and this
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by a portion of his countrymen. In the early part of the year -1781, Mr. Adams had been commissioned to be minister pleni- potentiary of Congress to the Netherlands, and was also em- powered to negotiate a loan of money. Ou the nineteenth of April, 1781, very soon after his arrival in that country, he pre- sented to the government a memorial, in which he informed it, that the United States had thought fit to send him a commission, with full power and instructions to confer with the government of the Netherlands concerning a treaty of amity and commerce, and that they had appointed him to be their minister to reside there.
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On the twenty-second day of April, 1782, it being about a year after the presentation of this memorial, it was resolved, " 'That the said Mr. Adams should be acknowledged in quality of minister plenipotentiary." Before this was obtained, much pains had been taken, and much ingenuity had been exerted, to convince the rulers of the Netherlands that they had an interest in connecting themselves with the United States.
Mr. Adams, having gained this point, proceeded on the ne- gotiation of a treaty of amity and commerce between the two countries. This was speedily concluded to the satisfaction of both parties. 'The same success which attended Mr. Adams in these negotiations, continued to follow him in obtaining a loan of money. for his almost exhausted country.
Mr. Jay (who was afterwards successively elevated to the rank of chief justice of the United States, and governor of the state of New-York, and who has suffered equally with Mr. Adams from the calumny of a portion of his countrymen) had for nearly three years past exerted equal abilities and equal industry with Mr. Adams, in endeavouring to negotiate a treaty between the United States and Spain ; but his laudable exertions were not crowned with equal success. Mr. Jay had been instructed by Congress, to contend for the right of the United States to the free navigation of the Mississippi. But in February, 1781, when Lord Cornwallis was making rapid progress in overrun- ning the southern states, Congress, on the recommendation of Virginia, directed him to, recede from this part of his in-
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- structions, so far as they insisted on the free navigation of the
- Mississippi, below latitude thirty-one degrees, and on a free port or ports below the same. These propositions were made to the ministers of Spain, but not accepted.
On the twelfth day of December, 1781, it was moved in the house of commons, that a resolution should be adopted declar- ing it to be their opinion, "That all further attempts to reduce the United States by force, would be ineffectual, and injurious to the interests of Great Britain ;" but no resolution disapprov- ing its further prosecution, could yet obtain the assent of a majority of the members. On the twenty-second day of Feb- ruary, 1782, it was again moved, " That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he will be pleased to give direc- tions to his ministers, not to pursue any longer the impracticable object of reducing his majesty's revolted colonies by force, to their allegiance, by war, on the continent of America." This was lost by a single vote.
General Conway, who had brought up the preceding motion, . brought forward another on the twenty-seventh day of the same month, to the same effect.' This occasioned a long de- bate. It was then moved to adjourn the debate till the 13th of March, in the following month, but there was a small ma- jority against it.
The original motion and address to the king, formed upon the resolution, were then carried without a division, and the address was ordered to be presented by the whole house.
To this his majesty answered, " That in pursuance of their advice, he would take such measures as should appear to him the most conducive to the restoration of. harmony between Great Britain and the colonies." This answer being unsatisfac- tory to the house, General Conway moved another resolution, which was to the following effect : "'That the house would con- sider as enemies to his majesty and the kingdom, all those who should advise, or by any means attempt the further prosecution of offensive war on the continent of America, for the purpose of reducing the colonies to obedience by force." This motion .
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