AT last came the king's answer to the appeal of Congress. The petition of the colonies was rejected with contempt. By this tyrannical answer the day of independence was brought nearer. Meanwhile, General Howe had succeeded Gage in command of the British troops in Boston.

2. All winter long the city was besieged by Washington. By the first of spring, 1776, it was resolved to seize Dorchester Heights and drive Howe out of Boston. On the night of the 4th of March a detachment under cover of the darkness reached the Heights unperceived. The British noticed nothing unusual; but, when morning dawned, Howe saw at a glance that he must carry the American position or abandon the city. He ordered his men to storm the Heights before nightfall.

3. Washington visited the trenches and exhorted his men. It was the anniversary of the Boston Massacre. A battle was momentarily expected; but while the British delayed, a storm arose and rendered the harbor impassable, and the attack could not be made. Before the following morning the Americans had so strengthened their fortifications that all thoughts of an assault were abandoned. Howe found himself reduced to the extremity of giving up the capital of New England.

4. After some days there was an agreement between Washington and the British general that the latter should retire from Boston unmolested on condition that the city should not be burned. On the 17th of March, the whole British army sailed away. The American advance at once entered the city. On the 20th, Washington made a formal entry at the head of the triumphant army. The country was wild with delight. Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck in honor of Washington's victory over the enemy.

5. In a short time, the commander-in-chief repaired with the army to New York. General Lee pressed forward with the Connecticut militia, and reached that city just in time to baffle an attempt of Sir Henry Clinton, who next sailed southward, and was joined by Sir Peter Parker and Lord Cornwallis with two thousand five hundred men. The force of the British was deemed sufficient to capture Charleston.

6. The Carolinians, led by General Lee, rose in arms and flocked to Charleston. The city was fortified; and a fort, which commanded the entrance to the harbor, was built on Sullivan's Island. On the 4th of June the British squadron came in sight. On the 28th the British fleet began a bombardment of the fortress, which was commanded by Colonel Moultrie; but the walls, built of palmetto, were little injured. As evening drew on, the British were obliged to retire with a loss of two hundred men. The loss of the garrison amounted to thirty-two.

7. During the summer Washington's forces were increased to twenty-seven thousand men, but the effective force was little more than half that number. Great Britain was making the greatest preparations. By a treaty with some of the German States, seventeen thousand Hessians were hired to fight against America. Twenty-five thousand English troops were levied; and a million dollars were voted for the expenses of the war.

8. Thus far the colonists had claimed to be loyal subjects of Great Britain. Now the case seemed hopeless. The people urged the general assemblies, and the general assemblies urged Congress, to a declaration of independence. Congress responded by recommending the colonies to adopt such governments as might best conduce to the safety of the people.

9. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, offered a resolution in Congress declaring that the United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. A long and exciting debate ensued. The final consideration of Lee's resolution was postponed until the 1st of July. On the 11th of June, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed a committee to prepare a formal declaration.

10. On the 1st of July the committee's report was laid before Congress. On the next day Lee's resolution was adopted. During the 3d the formal declaration was debated with great spirit. The discussion was resumed on the 4th, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the Declaration of American Independence was adopted by a unanimous vote.

11. The old bellman of the State House rang out the note of freedom to the nation. The multitudes caught the signal and answered with shouts. Everywhere the declaration was received with enthusiastic applause. At Philadelphia the king's arms were torn down and burned in the street. At Williamsburg, Charleston, and Savannah there were bonfires. At Boston the declaration was read in Faneuil Hall. At New York the populace pulled down the statue of George III. and cast it into bullets. Washington ordered that the declaration be read at the head of each brigade.

12. The leading principles of the Declaration of Independence are these: That all men are created equal; that governments are instituted for the welfare of the people; that the people have a right to alter their government; that the government of George III. had become destructive of liberty; that the king's tyranny over his American subjects was no longer endurable; and that, therefore, the United Colonies of America are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.

13. Early in July, General Howe landed a force of nine thousand men on Staten Island. Thither Clinton came from the siege of Charleston, and Admiral Howe from England. The British force in the vicinity of New York amounted to thirty thousand men. Nearly half of them were Hessians. Washington's army was greatly inferior in numbers and discipline.

14. Lord Howe had been instructed to try conciliatory measures with the Americans. First, he sent to the American camp a dispatch directed to George Washington, Esquire. Washington refused to receive a communication which did not recognize his official position. Howe then sent another message, addressed to George Washington, etc., etc., etc.; and the bearer insisted that and-so-forth might mean General of the American Army. But Washington sent the officer away.

15. Lord Howe and his brother at once began hostilities. On the 22d of August, the British, to the number of ten thousand, landed on Long Island. The Americans, about eight thousand strong, were posted in the vicinity of Brooklyn. On the morning of the 27th of August, Grant's division of the British army was met by General Stirling with fifteen hundred men, and the battle at once began, but there was no decisive result. General Heister advanced beyond Flatbush, and engaged the main body of the Americans, under General Sullivan. Here the Hessians gained little or no ground until Sullivan was alarmed by the noise of battle on his left and rear.

16. During the night General Clinton had occupied the heights above the Jamaica road, and now came down by way of Bedford. Sullivan found himself surrounded and cut off. The men fought bravely, and many broke through the lines of the British. The rest were scattered, killed, or taken prisoners.

17. Cornwallis, attempting to cut off Stirling's retreat, was repulsed. Most of Stirling's men reached the American lines at Brooklyn. Generals Stirling, Sullivan, and Woodhull were taken prisoners. Nearly a thousand patriots were killed or missing. It seemed an easy thing for Clinton and Howe to capture all the rest.

18. Washington resolved to withdraw to New York. The enterprise was extremely hazardous. At eight o'clock in the evening the embarkation of the army began. All night with muffled oars the boatmen rowed silently back and forth. At daylight the movement was discovered by the British. They rushed into the American intrenchments and found nothing but a few worthless guns.

19. The defeat on Long Island was very disastrous to the American cause. Many of the troops returned to their homes. Only by constant exertion did Washington keep his army from disbanding. The British fleet anchored within cannon-shot of New York. Washington retired to the Heights of Harlem. On the 15th of September the British landed three miles above New York. Thence they extended their lines and took possession of the city.

20. On the 16th of October, Howe embarked his forces, passed into Long Island Sound, and landed in the vicinity of Westchester. The object was to get upon the American flank and cut off communications with the Eastern States. On the 28th a battle was brought on at White Plains. The Americans were driven from one position, but intrenched themselves in another, then withdrew to the heights of North Castle. Howe remained for a few days at White Plains, and returned to New York.

21. Washington now crossed to the west bank of the Hudson and took post at Fort Lee. Four thousand men were left at North Castle under General Lee. Fort Washington, on Manhattan Island, was defended by three thousand men under Colonel Magaw. The skillful construction of this fort had attracted the attention of Washington, and led to an acquaintance with the engineer, Alexander Hamilton, then a stripling but twenty years of age.

22. On the 16th of November, Fort Washington was captured by the British. The garrison were made prisoners of war and crowded into the jails of New York. Two days after the surrender, Fort Lee was taken by Lord Cornwallis. Washington with his army, now reduced to three thousand men, retreated to Trenton on the Delaware. Nothing but the skill of the commander saved the remnant of his forces from destruction.

23. On the 8th of December, Washington crossed the Delaware. Cornwallis, having no boats, was obliged to wait for the freezing of the river. It was seen that as soon as the river should be frozen the British would march into Philadelphia. Congress accordingly adjourned to Baltimore. During his retreat across New Jersey, Washington sent dispatches to General Lee, at North Castle, to join the main army as soon as possible. That officer took up his quarters at Basking Ridge. On the 13th of December, a squad of British cavalry captured Lee and hurried him off to New York. General Sullivan took command of Lee's division, and hastened to join Washington. The entire American force now amounted to a little more than six thousand.

24. The tide of misfortune turned at last. Washington saw in the disposition of the British forces an opportunity to strike a blow for his country. The leaders of the enemy were off their guard. The Hessians on the east side of the river were spread out from Trenton to Burlington. Washington conceived the design of crossing the Delaware and striking the detachment at Trenton before a concentration of the enemy's forces could be effected. The American army was arranged in three divisions under Generals Cadwallader, Ewing, and Washington himself. Christmas night was selected as the time for the movement.

25. The Delaware was filled with floating ice. Ewing and Cadwallader were both baffled in their efforts to cross the river. Washington, having succeeded in getting over, divided his army of twenty-four hundred men into two columns and pressed forward. At eight o'clock in the morning the Americans came rushing into Trenton from both directions. The Hessians sprang from their quarters and attempted to form in line. Colonel Rall was mortally wounded. Nearly a thousand of the Hessians threw down their arms and begged for quarter. Before nightfall Washington, with his army and the whole body of captives, was safe on the other side of the Delaware.

CENTRAL NEW JERSEY 1778.