CHAPTER VIII
THE FRENCH ALLIANCE |
| PAGE |
| The four periods of the Revolutionary war | 1-3 |
| Consequences of Saratoga; consternation in England | 4 |
| Views of the different parties | 5, 6 |
| Lord North’s political somersault | 6 |
| Strange scene in the House of Commons | 7, 8 |
| Treaty between France and the United States (February 6, 1778) | 8, 9 |
| Great Britain declares war against France (March 13) | 10 |
| Demand for Lord Chatham for prime minister | 11, 12 |
| The king’s rage | 12, 13 |
| What Chatham would have tried to do | 13, 14 |
| Death of Chatham | 14-16 |
| His prodigious greatness | 16-20 |
| Lord North remains in power | 20, 21 |
| His commissioners in America fail to accomplish anything | 22 |
| Germain’s new plan for conducting the war | 22, 23 |
CHAPTER IX
VALLEY FORGE |
| Distress in America | 24 |
| Lack of organization | 25 |
| Vexatious meddling of Congress with the army | 26 |
| Sufferings at Valley Forge | 27 |
| Promoting officers for non-military reasons | 28 |
| Absurd talk of John Adams | 29 |
| Gates is puffed up with success | 30 |
| And shows symptoms of insubordination | 31 |
| The Conway cabal | 32, 33
|
| Attempts to injure Washington | 34, 35 |
| Conway’s letter to Gates | 36 |
| Gates’s letter to Washington | 37 |
| Washington’s reply | 38 |
| Gates tries, unsuccessfully, to save himself by lying | 39 |
| But is successful, as usual, in keeping from under fire | 40 |
| The forged letters | 40 |
| Scheme for invading Canada | 41 |
| The dinner at York, and Lafayette’s toast | 42 |
| Absurdity of the scheme | 43 |
| Downfall of the cabal | 43 |
| Decline of the Continental Congress | 44, 45 |
| Increasing influence of Washington | 45, 46 |
CHAPTER X
MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT |
| Baron Friedrich von Steuben | 47-49 |
| He arrives in America and visits Congress at York | 50 |
| His work in training the army at Valley Forge | 51-53 |
| His manual of tactics | 54 |
| Sir William Howe resigns his command | 55 |
| The Mischianza | 56 |
| The British evacuate Philadelphia (June 18, 1778) | 56, 57 |
| Arnold takes command there | 57 |
| Charles Lee is exchanged, and returns to his command in the American army | 58 |
| His reasons for returning | 58, 59 |
| Washington pursues the British | 60 |
| His plan of attack | 61 |
| Battle of Monmouth (June 28) | 62-65 |
| Lee’s shameful retreat | 62 |
| Washington retrieves the situation | 63, 64 |
| It was a drawn battle | 65 |
| Washington’s letter to Lee | 66 |
| Trial and sentence of Lee | 67, 68 |
| Lee’s character and schemes | 68-70 |
| Lee’s expulsion from the army; his death | 71 |
| The situation at New York | 72 |
| The French fleet unable to enter the harbour | 73 |
| General Prescott at Newport | 74 |
| Attempt to capture the British garrison at Newport | 75 |
| Sullivan seizes Butts Hill | 76 |
| Naval battle prevented by storm | 77
|
| Estaing goes to Boston to refit his ships | 77, 78 |
| Yeomanry go home in disgust | 78 |
| Battle of Butts Hill (August 29) | 79 |
| The enterprise abandoned | 79 |
| Unpopularity of the French alliance | 80 |
| Stagnation of the war in the northern states | 81, 82 |
CHAPTER XI
WAR ON THE FRONTIER |
| Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, missionary and war-chief | 83-86 |
| The Tories of western New York | 87, 88 |
| The valley of Wyoming and its settlers from Connecticut | 89, 90 |
| Massacre at Wyoming (July 3, 1778) | 91, 92 |
| Massacre at Cherry Valley (November 10) | 93, 94 |
| Sullivan’s expedition against the Iroquois | 94 |
| Battle of Newtown (August 29, 1779) | 95 |
| Devastation of the Iroquois country | 96 |
| Reign of terror in the Mohawk valley | 97, 98 |
| The wilderness beyond the Alleghanies | 99 |
Rivalry between Pennsylvania and Virginia for the possession
of Fort Pitt | 100 |
| Lord Dunmore’s war (1774) | 100-104 |
| Logan and Cresap | 102, 103 |
Battle of Point Pleasant (October 10, 1774) and its
consequences | 104 |
| Settlement of Kentucky | 105 |
| And of eastern Tennessee | 106 |
| Defeat of the Cherokees on the Watauga, and its consequences | 106-108 |
| George Rogers Clark | 108 |
| His conquest of the northwestern territory (1778) | 109 |
| Capture of Vincennes (February 23, 1779) | 110 |
| Settlement of middle Tennessee | 111 |
| Importance of Clark’s conquest | 112 |
| Tryon’s raids upon the coast of Connecticut | 113 |
| Sir Henry Clinton captures the fortress at Stony Point (May 31, 1779) | 114 |
| Wayne recaptures Stony Point by storm (July 16) | 115, 116 |
| Evacuation of Stony Point | 117 |
| Note on comparative humanity of Americans and British, in the Revolutionary war | 116-118 |
| Henry Lee’s exploit at Paulus Hook (August 18) | 119, 120
|
CHAPTER XII
WAR ON THE OCEAN |
| Importance of the control of the water | 121 |
| Feeble action of Congress | 122, 123 |
| American and British cruisers | 124, 125 |
| Lambert Wickes and Gustavus Conyngham | 126 |
| John Paul Jones | 126 |
| Franklin’s supervision of maritime affairs | 127 |
| Jones’s squadron | 128, 129 |
| His cruise on the British coast | 130 |
| He meets a British fleet off Flamborough Head | 130, 131 |
| Terrific fight between the Serapis and the Bon Homme Richard (September 23, 1779) | 132-135 |
| Effect of Jones’s victory | 135 |
| Why Denmark and Russia were interested in it | 136, 137 |
| Relations of Spain to France and England | 138 |
| Intrigues of Spain | 139, 140 |
| Treaty between Spain and France (April, 1779) | 141 |
| French and Spanish fleets attempt an invasion of England (August, 1779) | 142 |
| Sir George Rodney | 143, 144 |
| Rights of neutrals upon the sea | 144-157 |
| The Consolato del Mare | 145, 146 |
| England’s conduct in the eighteenth century | 147 |
| Prussian doctrine that free ships make free goods | 148 |
| Influence of the French philosophers | 148, 149 |
| Great Britain wishes to secure an alliance with Russia | 149 |
| Importance of Minorca | 150 |
| France adopts the Prussian doctrine | 151, 152 |
| The affair of Fielding and Bylandt | 153 |
| Spanish cruisers capture Russian vessels | 154 |
| Catherine’s proclamation (March 8, 1780) | 154 |
| The Armed Neutrality | 155, 156 |
| Vast importance of the principles laid down by Catherine | 157 |
| Relations between Great Britain and Holland | 158, 159 |
| Holland joins the Armed Neutrality | 160 |
| Capture of Henry Laurens and his papers | 160 |
| Great Britain declares war against Holland (December 20, 1780) | 161 |
| Catherine decides not to interfere | 162 |
| Capture of St. Eustatius (February 3, 1781) | 163-165 |
| Shameful proceedings | 166 |
| Ignominious results of the politics of George III. | 167 |
CHAPTER XIII
A YEAR OF DISASTERS
|
| State of affairs in Georgia and South Carolina | 168, 169 |
| Georgia overrun by the British | 170, 171 |
| Arrival of General Lincoln (December, 1778) | 172 |
| Partisan warfare; barbarous reprisals | 172 |
| The Americans routed at Briar Creek (March 3, 1779) | 173 |
| Vandalism of General Prevost | 174 |
| Plan for arming negroes | 175 |
| Indignation in South Carolina | 176 |
| Action of the council | 176 |
| End of the campaign | 177, 178 |
| Attempt to recapture Savannah | 179 |
| Clinton and Cornwallis go to Georgia | 180 |
| The British advance upon Charleston | 181 |
| Surrender of Charleston (May 12, 1780) | 182 |
| South Carolina overrun by the British | 182-184 |
| Clinton returns to New York | 185 |
| An injudicious proclamation | 186 |
| Disorders in South Carolina | 186 |
| The strategic points | 187 |
| Partisan commanders | 187 |
| Francis Marion | 188 |
| Thomas Sumter | 189 |
| First appearance of Andrew Jackson in history | 189 |
| Advance of Kalb | 190 |
| Gates appointed to the chief command in the south | 190, 191 |
| Choice of roads to Camden | 192 |
| Gates chooses the wrong road | 193 |
| He loses the moment for striking | 193 |
| And weakens his army on the eve of battle | 194 |
| And is surprised by Cornwallis | 195 |
| Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780); total and ignominious defeat of Gates | 195-197 |
| His campaign was a series of blunders | 197 |
| Partisan operations | 198 |
| Weariness and depression of the people | 199 |
| Evils wrought by the paper currency | 200 |
| “Not worth a Continental” | 201, 202 |
| Taxes paid in the form of specific supplies | 203 |
| Difficulty of keeping the army together | 203, 204 |
| The French alliance | 205
|
| Lafayette’s visit to France (February, 1779) | 206, 207 |
| Arrival of part of the French auxiliary force under Count Rochambeau (July, 1780) | 208 |
| The remainder is detained in France by a British fleet | 209 |
| General despondency | 210 |
CHAPTER XIV
BENEDICT ARNOLD |
| Arnold put in command of Philadelphia (June, 1778) | 211 |
| He gets into difficulties with the government of Pennsylvania | 212 |
| Miss Margaret Shippen | 212 |
| Views of the moderate Tories | 213 |
| Arnold’s drift toward Toryism | 214 |
| He makes up his mind to leave the army | 215 |
| Charges are brought against him (January, 1779) | 216 |
| He is acquitted by a committee of Congress (March) | 216 |
| The case is referred to a court-martial (April) | 217 |
| First correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton | 218 |
The court-martial acquits Arnold of all serious charges, but
directs Washington to reprimand him for two very trivial ones
(January 26, 1780) | 219 |
| Arnold thirsts for revenge upon Congress | 220 |
| Significance of West Point | 221 |
| Arnold put in command of West Point (July, 1780) | 222 |
| Secret interview between Arnold and AndrÉ (September 22) | 223 |
| The plot for surrendering West Point | 224-225 |
| AndrÉ takes compromising documents | 226 |
| And is persuaded to return to New York by land | 227 |
| The roads infested by robbers | 228 |
| Arrest of AndrÉ (September 23) | 229-232 |
| Colonel Jameson’s perplexity | 232 |
| Washington returns from Hartford sooner than expected | 233, 234 |
| Flight of Arnold (September 25) | 235 |
| Discovery of the treasonable plot | 236, 237 |
| AndrÉ taken to Tappan (September 28) | 238 |
| AndrÉ’s trial and sentence (September 29) | 238 |
| Clinton’s arguments and protests | 239 |
| Captain Ogden’s message | 240 |
| Execution of AndrÉ (October 2) | 241 |
| Lord Stanhope’s unconscious impudence | 242 |
There is no reason in the world why AndrÉ’s life should have
been spared | 243 |
| Captain Battersby’s story | 244
|
| Arnold’s terrible downfall | 244-246 |
| Arnold’s family | 247 |
| His remorse and death (June 14, 1801) | 248 |
| Reflections | 248-250 |
| Mutiny of Pennsylvania troops (January 1, 1781) | 251, 252 |
| Fate of Clinton’s emissaries | 253 |
| Further mutiny suppressed | 253, 254 |
CHAPTER XV
YORKTOWN |
| Cornwallis invades North Carolina (September, 1780) | 255 |
| Ferguson’s expedition | 255 |
| Rising of the backwoodsmen | 256, 257 |
| Battle of King’s Mountain (October 7, 1780) | 258, 259 |
| Effect of the blow | 260 |
| Reinforcements from the North; arrival of Daniel Morgan | 261 |
| Greene appointed to the chief command at the South | 261 |
Greene’s daring strategy; he threatens Cornwallis on both
flanks | 262-264 |
| Cornwallis retorts by sending Tarleton against Morgan | 265 |
| Morgan’s position at the Cowpens | 265 |
Battle of the Cowpens (January 17, 1781); nearly the whole
British force captured on the field | 266 |
Brilliant movements of Morgan and Greene; they lead Cornwallis
a chase across North Carolina | 267-269 |
| Further manoeuvres | 270 |
| Battle of Guilford (March 15) | 270, 271 |
| Retreat of Cornwallis | 272 |
| He abandons the Carolinas and marches into Virginia | 273 |
| Greene’s master-stroke; he returns to South Carolina (April 6-18) | 273 |
And, by taking Fort Watson, cuts Lord Rawdon’s communications
(April 23) | 274 |
Rawdon defeats Greene at Hobkirk’s Hill (April 25); but is
none the less obliged to give up Camden in order to save
his army (May 10) | 275, 276 |
| All the inland posts taken from the British (May-June) | 276 |
| Rawdon goes to England, leaving Stuart in command | 277 |
| Greene marches against Stuart (August 22) | 277 |
| Battle of Eutaw Springs (September 8) | 278 |
| Greene’s superb generalship | 278, 279 |
| Lord Cornwallis arrives at Petersburg (May 20) | 279, 280 |
| His campaign against Lafayette | 281-283
|
| Cornwallis retreats to the coast, and occupies Yorktown | 284, 285 |
Elements of the final catastrophe; arrival of the French
fleet | 286, 287 |
| News from Grasse and Lafayette | 288 |
| Subtle and audacious scheme of Washington | 289 |
| He transfers his army to Virginia (August 19-September 18) | 290-292 |
| Movements of the fleets | 293 |
| Cornwallis surrounded at Yorktown | 294 |
Clinton’s attempt at a counter-stroke; Arnold’s proceedings
at New London (September 6) | 295, 296 |
| Surrender of Cornwallis | 297 |
| Importance of the aid rendered by the French fleet and army | 298, 299 |
| Effect of the news in England | 300, 301 |
| Difficult position of Great Britain | 302 |
| Rodney’s victory over Grasse (April 12, 1782) | 303 |
| Resignation of Lord North (March 20, 1782) | 304 |
| Defeat of the political schemes of George III. | 305 |
The American Revolution was not a conflict between Englishmen
and Americans, but between two antagonistic principles of
government, each of which had its advocates and opponents in
both countries; and Yorktown was an auspicious victory won
by Washington for both countries | 306-310 |
