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458 VIRGINIA: A HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE.
diery ;" and then Arnold returned to Westover and thence to Portsmouth, harassed on the way by the Vir- ginia militia.
With the spring came the real invasion. The enemy had plainly determined to carry the war into Virginia, and there everything was now concentrating. Lord Cornwallis, who had disembarrassed himself of General Greene in the Carolinas, was on his march to form a junction with a British force on its way to Virginia, and the Commonwealth, it was supposed, would fall an easy prey. The prospect was inviting. The fall of the great rebel province, solidly thrust into the centre of the confederacy and alimenting its armies, would end the contest ; and to reduce it under British sway was now the work expected of Lord Cornwallis.
In April General Phillips, with a force of two thou- sand five hundred men, ascended James River, drove off a body of militia at Petersburg, burned the ware- houses there, and then marched northward toward Richmond destroying as he went. Opposite the place, then an inconsiderable town, he was forced to pause. The hills north of the river were lined with American troops ; and the force proved to be a body of twelve hundred regulars sent by Washington, under command of the Marquis de Lafayette. to defend Virginia. This ardent young Frenchman, who was at the time only twenty-three, had offered to serve as a volunteer in the American cause, without pay, and in any capacity ; but Congress had commissioned him Major-general, and he had soon secured the confidence of Washington. His assignment to the command of a detached corps, on so important an arena as Virginia, indicated the fact ; and from the beginning to the end of the campaign the young
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LAFAYETTE AND CORNWALLIS.
soldier justified the confidence reposed in him. General Phillips declined to attack him at Richmond, and re- turned toward Petersburg, wheu Lafayette hastened in the same direction to occupy the place before his arrival. Phillips reached it first, and was soon afterwards sa- luted by a cannonade from the Appomattox hills. To this he scarcely made any reply. He lay at " Bolling- brook," a mansion in the suburbs, burnt up with fever, and soon afterwards sunk under it and expired. His last pathetic words were, "They will not let me die in peace," and he was buried with military honors in the Old Blandford graveyard, - " the proudest man, Jef- ferson said, "of the proudest nation upon earth."
In May, Lord Cornwallis arrived and took command of all the forces in Virginia, amounting to eight or ten thousand men, of whom about one half were at Peters- burg. Lafayette's force was twelve hundred regulars, three thousand militia, and about fifty cavalry, who had before them the discouraging prospect of meeting the numerous and " excellent cavalry " of Colonel Tarleton, who had committed so many outrages in the Carolinas. Lord Cornwallis seems to have looked forward to an easy victory over his young adversary, and wrote in an intercepted letter, " The boy cannot escape me." The first movements of Lafayette seemed to indicate a de- sire to escape. He was at " Wilton," on James River, below Richmond ; promptly retired as Lord Cornwallis advanced ; and during the whole month of May and a part of June continued the same maneuvers. Falling back toward the Rappahannock, he obstinately declined being brought to battle ; and after following him as far as the North Anna, Lord Cornwallis halted, apparently in despair of coming up with him.
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Ravages followed in every quarter. Tarleton's cav- alry, in their white uniforms, proved themselves the scourge of Virginia, as they had been the scourge of the Carolinas. They went with torch and sword through the whole James River region ; burned houses, carried off horses, cutting the throats of those which were too young to use ; and made a dash to capture the Assembly, then in session at Charlottesville, and Governor Jeffer- son at his home of Monticello. The Assembly-men scattered in dismay, and Jefferson escaped into the neigh- boring mountain; and Colonel Tarleton, with seven captured law-makers of the Assembly, returned to the low lands.
The only prospect of an engagement between La- fayette and Cornwallis was when the latter made a move- ment to capture the stores at Albemarle Old Court- house. By a rapid march Lafayette interposed and offered battle ; but Lord Cornwallis, who seemed so eager, declined to attack his adversary; and in the latter part of June retired slowly in the direction of the coast. Lafayette steadily followed. He had been reenforced on the Rapidan by nine hundred Pennsylvanians under General Anthony Wayne, the brave Pennsylvanian, who had been shot down at Stony Point, but had exclaimed to his men, "Carry me into the fort, for I will die at the head of my column !" He had also been joined by an additional force of militia under General Steuben, and cautiously followed Lord Cornwallis down the Pe- ninsula, between the James and York. An indecisive encounter took place at Williamsburg between the American advance force and the British rear, and a more important engagement followed at the old locality of Jamestown.
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This affair nearly proved a serious blow to Lafayette, and was a proof of the good generalship of Lord Corn- wallis. Sending emissaries into the American lines to report that he had crossed James River with the bulk of his force, Cornwallis laid an ambuscade, and induced General Wayne to attack him. A heavy fog assisted this ruse, and Wayne hurried forward to assail, as he supposed, the British rear-guard. In place of the rear- guard he encountered the British army, and was attacked by an overpowering force in front and flank. He nar- rowly escaped destruction, and only extricated himself by directing a sudden charge, and then as suddenly re- treating. The maneuver was so skillfully executed that Lord Cornwallis was unable to again strike him ; and crossing the James with his forces he fell back to Ports- mouthi and then to Yorktown.
Such had been the result of the great invasion of Vir- ginia. In a military point of view little had been ef- fected, but its effects had been disastrous. All Tide- water Virginia had been swept as by a tornado. The growing crops had been destroyed ; the grain burned in the mills ; the plantations laid waste; and the horses and cattle either killed or carried off. Thirty thousand negroes liad been taken away ; of whom twenty-seven thousand are said to have died of the small-pox or camp fever. The destruction of property was estimated at thirteen millions sterling.
The only commentary made by Lafayette was that he " had given his lordship the disgrace of a retreat," and forced him to the cul de sac of Yorktown, where he must fight.
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462 VIRGINIA: A HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE.
XVIII.
YORKTOWN.
IN the first days of autumn (1781), few persons in England or America suspected that the Revolution, with its shifting scenes and varying fortunes, was approach- ing its end. The British Government seemed as reso- lute as ever to continue hostilities until the American rebels submitted. Sir Henry Clinton occupied New York ; and Lord Cornwallis, after marching nearly un- opposed through Virginia, had retired to the strong po- sition of Yorktown, to await reinforcements. With the coming spring it scemed probable that a last campaign would decide the struggle, and force the worn-out rebels to surrender at discretion.
Suddenly the whole prospect changed. Late in August Lafayette sent a dispatch to Washington on the Hudson, opposite New York, that the Count de Grasse, commanding a French fleet, had sailed from St. Do- mingo for Chesapeake Bay, to cooperate in the move- ments against Lord Cornwallis. At this intelligence Washington's " soul was in arms." The Count de Ro- chambeau had landed in Connecticut with a force of 6,000 men, and it seemed possible, with the assistance of · this corps and the fleet of De Grasse, to hem in Lord Cornwallis and capture his army.
The movement was at once decided upon. All de- pended upon concealing it until it would be too late to reenforce Cornwallis. Camps were ostentatiously laid out, opposite New York, in sight of the enemy ; a feigned assault was made on their posts ; and Rochambeau moved
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from Newport, as though to take part in these opera- tions. The movement southward then followed. Once begun it was unresting. On the 20th of August (1781), the American forces crossed the Hudson; on the 22d Rochambeau arrived; on the 25th the march began ; and on the 2d of September the army passed through Philadelphia without stopping, and hastened on toward the head of the Chesapeake. The shifting scenes re- sembled those of a "theatrical exhibition," is the com- ment of an eye-witness. Until the troops reached the Delaware the object of the movement was a mystery, especially to Sir Henry Clinton. Then it was seen that a great blow was to be struck in Virginia.
The march through Philadelphia was a species of tri- umph. The windows were filled with ladies waving handkerchiefs and uttering exclamations of joy. The ragged " Continentals " came first, with their torn bat- tle-flags and cannon ; and the French followed in " gay, white uniforms faced with green," to the sound of mar- tial music. A long time had passed since Philadelphia had seen such a pageant ; the last resembling it had been the splendid "Mischianza " festival, devised by poor André, in the days of the British occupation.
At the head of Elk the bulk of the forces were em- barked on transports which carried them down the Chesapeake ; and before the end of September the whole American army was concentrated at Williams- burg.
While these movements were taking place, important events lad occurred in Virginia. Lord Cornwallis had erected works at Yorktown, and was confident of his ability to repulse any assault. The movements of Wash- ington, and the approach of the Count de Grasse, were
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both unknown to him. He felt secure in his strong position, with only Lafayette opposed to him, and awaited, without apprehension, until he was reenforced by Sir Henry Clinton, or a fleet was sent to transfer him to New York.
The movements of Lafayette ought to have warned him of his danger. A net was already drawn around him. While the main American force was facing him at Williamsburg, General Wayne, and General Nelson, who had succeeded Jefferson as Governor, were sent south of James River to prevent his escape to North Carolina. Lord Cornwallis was thus hemmed in by land, and the arrival of De Grasse would completely cut off his retreat by water. Lafayette was in the highest spirits. In a dispatch to Washington, he wrote : " Adieu, my dear General : I heartily thank you for having ordered me to remain in Virginia, and to your goodness to me I am owing the most beautiful prospect I may ever behold."
The beautiful prospect was the capture of Lord Corn- wallis ; and the arrival of the French fleet (August 28, 1781), seemed to render that event nearly certain. De Grasse appeared in the Chesapeake ; four men-of- war were sent to blockade the mouth of the York ; and a force of about three thousand men landed to reinforce Layfayette.
In the midst of these movements a British fleet, of twenty ships, commanded by Admiral Graves, made its appearance at the mouth of the Chesapeake. De Grasse promptly sailed out to attack it, and a sharp action fol- lowed (September 7, 1781). Both sides sustained in- juries, but' at sunset De Grasse retired, with two ships which he had captured, and Admiral Graves disappeared with his fleet northward.
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This engagement had taken place withiu hearing of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. The distant cannonade must have filled him with solicitude. His perilous situa- tion was now plain to him, and he sent urgent messages to Clinton to reenforce him. Instead of the reënforce- ments the American army made its appearance, com- manded by Washington.
The Commander-in-chief reached Williamsburg be- fore the troops, on the 14th of September, and on the 18th visited the Count de Grasse on board his flag- ship, the Ville de Paris, in Lynhaven Bay. De Grasse was plain and prompt in manners, and received his visitor with every mark of respect. The ships were manned, and a salute fired ; and Washington dined, and remained in consultation with the Count until sun- set. The plan of operations was agreed upon, and was to be carried into effect on the arrival of the American troops. Washington then returned to Williamsburg, in the midst of a second salute from the French ships.
On the 25th of September the American forces were concentrated at Williamsburg, and ready to march on Yorktown. They numbered eleven or twelve thousand regulars, and about five thousand militia under General Nelson ; and (September 28, 1781), the whole force ad- vanced to attack Lord Cornwallis.
The march was a joyous affair. The troops were in the highest spirits and went on through the bright au- tumn weather with the light step of men who see vic- tory hovering in the air. The French in their new uni- forms, and the tattered " Old Continentals," were equally gay. To many of the former this was their first cam- paign, and they welcomed it with enthusiasm ; to almost all of the latter the great source of rejoicing was that it
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466 VIRGINIA: A HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE.
was probably their last. The war promised to come to an end now, and the weary veterans, who had followed Washington for so many years, would soon see wife and child again in the dear old home.
By sunset the little army had passed over the short distance, and bivouacked within about two miles of Yorktown.
These movements preceding the famous "Siege of Yorktown " have been noticed in some detail ; they will interest the military student more than what followed them. The terrible wars of the nineteenth century have dwarfed these old skirmishes. We go back, in fancy, and listen with smiles to the shouting and hurrahing ; to the patriotic acclamations, and the glowing descriptions of the great combat. The scene, we are told, was " sub- lime and stupendous." The bomb-shells were seen " crossing each other's path in the air, and were visible in the form of a black ball in the day, but in the night they appear like a fiery meteor, with a blazing tail, most beautifully brilliant." These fearful emissaries "ascend majestically from the mortar to a certain altitude, and gradually descend to the spot where they are destined to execute their work of destruction." One remarkable circumstance is noticed : " When a shell falls, it wheels round, burrows and excavates the earth to a considera- ble extent, and bursting makes dreadful havoc around." When these beautifully brilliant meteors fall in York River the sight is no less stupendous. They " throw up columns of water like the spouting monsters of the deep."
In such glowing terms does patriotic Dr. Thacher describe the fearful ordeal to which the enemy were subjected. The day of fate has dawned at last for the
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detestable British. Their fearful crimes will be avenged. They are to wilt away and vanish in the midst of the havoc and destruction of this sublime and stupendous storm of meteors and monsters.
Let us attempt to close our ears to the din and see through the battle-smoke. About sixteen thousand men were attacking about eight thousand behind breast- works, and they began by shelling each other. The position of the English may be described in a few words. Yorktown was a small village on the south bank of York River, where it empties into Chesapeake Bay. On the north bank, opposite, was Gloucester Point, also held by the English. The Yorktown position was strong. It was flanked by water-courses, and the ap- proach was difficult. Lord Cornwallis had thrown up redoubts connected by intrencliments, and in front was an abatis of felled trees, commanded by liis cannon. Gloucester Point, across the river, was also fortified, and some English men-of-war lay in the York. Thus posted, Lord Cornwallis awaited attack.
Washington's line formed a crescent, the right and left resting on the water. On the right were the Ameri- can troops under immediate command of Lafayette, on the left the French under command of Rochambeau. The fleet of De Grasse was in the bay cutting off the approach by water.
Affairs proceeded deliberately. A parallel was opened by the Americans within six hundred yards of the works; and (October 9, 1781), Washington himself put the match to the first gun, and the cannonade began. It was kept up, nearly without ceasing by both sides, for three or four days, and was accompanied by some interesting incidents. The "Nelson House," in York-
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town, was supposed to be the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis, and General Nelson discovering that the American gunners refrained from firing at it, dismounted from his horse and directed a gun at it with his own hands. Another incident was the appearance of the venerable Secretary Nelson, who had left the town by permission of Lord Cornwallis, and reaching Washing- tou's quarters, " related with a serene visage what had been the effect of our batteries." One spectacle fur- nished some justification of the excited rhetoric of the historians of the siege. Hot shot were fired at the Charon and Guadalupe, the two British men-of-war lying in the river ; they were struck and sct on fire, and their appearance is described as " full of terrible gran- deur." The sails caught, and the flames ran to the sum- mits of the masts, resembling immense torches. The crew of the Guadalupe managed to extinguish them and save their vessel, but the Charon fled like a moun- tain of fire toward the bay, and was completely de- stroyed.
From this moment the siege was pressed vigorously, a second parallel drawn, and Washington resolved to storm the place. It was arranged that Alexander Hamilton should lead the Americans on the right, and the Baron de Viomenil the French, holding the left. The Auvergne regiment was in front there, formerly known as the "d'Auvergne sans tache," and the men promised Vioménil that if he would have their old name restored to them they would die to the last man.
About nightfall (October 14, 1781) rockets were sent up as the signal for attack. It was made with the bayo- net, without firing. The Americans passed over the abatis, with Hamilton leading them, and he was the
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first to mount the works, which he did by placing his foot on the shoulder of one of his men. The re- doubts were taken at the point of the bayonet, and the Americans uttered a loud cheer. On the left the work was harder; the attack had been made more- delib- erately, and the troops suffered heavily from having stopped to remove the abatis. Hamilton sent Vioménil word that his redoubt was carried ; - where was the Baron ?
"Tell the Marquis," said Viomenil, "that I am not in mine, but will be in five minutes."
The works there also were soon carried, and the Auvergne regiment won back their old name. The losses were considerable, but the whole British line of works was now captured. Small incidents of the time were afterwards recalled and recorded. Washington was in one of his batteries, awaiting the result with great anxiety. The position was exposcd, and an aide- de-camp ventured to suggest the fact, when he said in his grave voice : -
"If you think so, you are at liberty to step back, sir."
A bullet struck a cannon at his side, when General Knox suddenly grasped his arm, exclaiming : -
" My dear General, we can't spare you yet."
" It is a spent ball, no harm is done," Washington replied. When the works were carried on the right and left, and the long shout of the French and Americans was heard, he turned to Knox and said : -
" The work is done, and well done."
The work was in fact done. The occupation of the outer Jine of redoubts by the Americans virtually de- cided the contest. The English still held an inner line, but these were commanded by the American artillery,
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and Lord Cornwallis saw that affairs were desperate. " My situation now becomes very critical," he wrote to Sir Henry Clinton. " We dare not show a gun to their old batteries, and I expect that their new ones will open to-morrow morning." He added the magnanimous words, " I cannot recommend that the fleet and army should run great risk in endeavoring to save us ; " - words that show that his lordship was a soldier and a gentleman.
Before daybreak on the 16th an effort was made to check the assailants, and Colonel Abercrombie with three hundred and fifty men, gallantly captured one of the new redoubts in front of the French. But he was soon driven out of it again, and the fate of Lord Corn- wallis was decided. He made a last desperate attempt to burst out of the net tightening around him. He hoped by crossing to Gloucester Point, mounting his men, and pushing across the Rappahannock and Poto- mac, to reach New York. One division had actually crossed, when a great storm arose. The boats were scattered and driven down the river; the embarkation of the second division was rendered impossible, and the first division was forced finally to return to Yorktown under the fire of the American cannon.
This was the end. Lord Cornwallis sent a flag to Washington (October 17, 1781), proposing a cessation of the firing for twenty-four hours, to discuss terms of surrender. But Washington would only consent that the firing should cease for two hours, during which time he requested that his lordship would make his proposal. This was necessary ; every hour counted now. British reinforcements might arrive at any moment. If Lord Cornwallis were going to surrender, the business might be transacted without delay. Commissioners were ac-
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cordingly appointed and met at the Moore House - the old " Temple Farm," which had once been the residence of Governor Alexander Spotswood. The terms were transcribed and sent to Lord Cornwallis early on the morning of the 19th ; and Washington requested him to return them signed by eleven in the forenoon, and that the garrison should march out at two on the same afternoon.
The terms were assented to, and the capitulation signed by Lord Cornwallis. The British forces were surrendered as prisoners of war to the combined armies : the marine forces to the French, and the land forces to the Americans. The officers were to retain their side-arms, and both officers and soldiers their pri- vate property.
At about noon (October 19, 1781), the American army was drawn up in two lines about a mile long, on the right and left of a road running through the fields south of Yorktown. On the right were the American troops under personal command of Washington, on the left the French under Rochambeau ; and a great crowd of people had hastened to witness the ceremony. It took place at the hour appointed. The British troops marched slowly out of Yorktown, with drums beating but colors cased, - an indignity which had been inflicted on General Lincoln at Charleston. The English com- mander did not appear. General O'Hara, who was in command, rode up to Washington, saluted, and apolo- gized for the absence of Lord Cornwallis, who was un- well. Washington saluted in response, and pointed to General Lincoln as the officer who would receive the surrender. O'Hara then presented Lord Cornwallis' sword to Lincoln, it was at once returned to him, and
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the surrender was over. The Britishi marched between the American lines to a field near at hand, where they stacked arms. Their demeanor was gloomy and in- censed. Some of them hurled their muskets on the ground, and Colonel Abercrombie bit the hilt of his sword from rage. The troops were then marched back to Yorktown under an American guard.
On this same day, and nearly at the hour when Lord Cornwallis surrendered, Sir Henry Clinton sailed from New York with thirty-five ships and seven thousand men to reënforce him.
XIX.
THE CONSTITUTION.
THE surrender of Lord Cornwallis virtually termi- nated the Revolutionary War. In the spring of the next year Lord North retired and was succeeded by the Mar- quis of Rockingham, at the head of an anti-war ministry. Orders were sent to the British commanders in America to discontinue hostilities ; and (September 3, 1783), a definitive treaty of peace was signed, by which Great Britain recognized the independence of the American Colonies.
After a long and often doubtful struggle, the Ameri- cans had thus achieved their independence. What were they to do with it? As long as the war continued it was useless to agitate that question. Now it pressed upon the country and must be decided. The old Arti- cles of Confederation, framed during the storm and stress of the first years of the struggle, were felt to be "a rope of sand." The American States were either to set up as separate nations, or to enter into a durable
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