shores of which could be approached over the ice, was made on the 14th of January, but without success; and this was the chief warlike operation of the dead season. The soldiers, having nothing else to do, turned their activity against their own countrymen. In a general order of January 29th, Washington said :— "The General is astonished and mortified that, notwithstanding the last order, the inhabitants in the vicinity of the camp are absolutely a prey to the plundering and licentious spirit of the soldiery. From daily complaints, and a formal representation of the magistrates, a night scarcely passes without gangs of soldiers going out camp, and committing every species of robbery, depredation, and the grossest personal insults. These violences are committed on the property and persons of those who, on a very late alarming occasion for the want of provision, manifested the warmest attachment to the army, by affording it the most generous and plentiful relief."

On the

The approach of spring brought no improvement, as far as the supply of food was concerned. 28th of April, Washington wrote to General Howe that his men were constantly on the point of starving. A fortnight later, Nathaniel Greene, the Quartermaster-General, told Joseph Reed, in a letter to that officer, that the army had not four days' provision of meat in the world, and that Washington himself was confounded at his situation, and appeared reserved and silent. A mood of sullen discontent, amounting almost to mutiny, spread through the ranks, and increased in gravity as the weeks wore on. Two Connecticut regiments paraded under arms on the 25th of May, and declared that they would either return home, or obtain subsistence at the point of the bayonet. The rest of the army, without actually joining in this movement, seemed to regard it with sympathy; but the men were at length brought back to their duty by the expostulations of their officers. Frequent requisitions were made on the people of New Jersey, and a feeling of exasperation was at length aroused in that quarter. That Washington, in the face of such trials, should have held his forces together at all, and maintained his positions, is, as one of his Generals remarked, a greater testimony to his abilities and worth than the victories which others had gained were to theirs.

The spirits of the Commander-in-Chief were cheered, during the month of April, by the return of the Marquis de Lafayette from France, with good news as to the intentions of that Power. The Government of Louis XVI. had fitted out an armament of naval and land forces, which soon to arrive in the United States. Washington could not but see how important, on

were

381.

military grounds, was this accession of strength; but there were many Americans who doubted the good effect of admitting French soldiers to the soil of the Republic. French agents in America had already observed the vehement dislike of their countrymen existing amongst the various communities over which George III. still asserted his right to rule. The French Minister, Count de Vergennes, questioned the advisability of sending troops to America; and not without reason, when it had been seen that even the sailors under Count d'Estaing, though coming but little into contact with the people, had in some places excited the most violent animosity. The majority of the French Cabinet, however,-influenced principally by the persuasions of Lafayette,-over-ruled the obobjections of Vergennes, and it was settled that the troops should be sent. This feeling of hereditary dislike was afterwards greatly mitigated, and the French and Americans worked well together to the end of the war. The fleet was commanded by the Chevalier de Ternay; at the head of the land forces was the Count de Rochambeau. With equal wisdom and good feeling, the French Government directed that Rochambeau and his troops should in all cases be under the orders of Washington, who, with this view, was made a Lieutenant-General in the French army; that American officers were to command French officers of equal rank; and that in all military acts or capitulations the American Generals were to sign

first.

Before the arrival of the French fleet, and while the American army was still in a state of great weakness, General Knyphausen, who in the absence of Sir Henry Clinton held the chief command at New York, determined to make a raid into the Jerseys. He had received some very exaggerated reports as to the disaffection of the people in that State, and, believing that he would be received with open arms, resolved to appeal in force to the loyal feelings which he erroneously supposed to be general. On the 6th of June, he

led five thousand soldiers from Staten Island to Elizabethtown in New Jersey, and on the following morning marched towards Springfield. It soon became evident that the inhabitants were not at all inclined to receive him in a friendly spirit. The militia and the regular troops quickly assembled, and attacked the advancing British with so much energy, that they found it advisable, in the night, to retreat to Elizabethtown. Before retiring, however, the invaders had got as far as the outskirts of Springfield, had set fire to the little settlement called Connecticut Farms, and

had reduced the whole village, including the church, to ashes. The act was one of wanton and inexcusable barbarity, and it was attended by another even more atrocious. A Mrs. Caldwell, wife of the minister of the place, was shot through the window of her house while sitting in the midst of her children. For this execrable deed there seems to have been not the slightest shadow of a pretext. It was doubtless the act of a single individual, obeying simply the lawless impulse of his own depraved and murderous nature; but the burning of the village must have been done by authority. Such measures seldom have any other effect than to exasperate opposition, and provoke retaliations which are frequently as bad as the original offences. The British left behind them a sense of cruel wrong, and a fierce desire for revenge; but the Jerseys, so far from being subdued, became all the more implacable in their hatred of Royal government. Knyphausen dared not venture on any further attempts in that direction, but concentrated his regiments at Elizabethtown and in Staten Island. On hearing of the invasion of New Jersey, Washington had made preparations for attacking the enemy; but the retreat of the British rendered this unnecessary-fortunately, perhaps, for the American commander, whose army at that time was extremely weak. The retiring forces were followed by an American detachment, which attacked their rear-guard on the morning of the 8th, but was repulsed. Washington, in consequence of these events, drew his army nearer to the Hudson, where he took up a position from which he could act with equal celerity in defence of New Jersey or of the New York highlands.

Further operations against New Jersey were undertaken by Sir Henry Clinton shortly after his return from South Carolina, which was on the 18th of June. Including four thousand militia and refugees, who were at any rate useful for garrison duty, the English General had now under his command about sixteen thousand effectives. At first it appeared as if he were about to sail up the Hudson, and attack the American posts in the highlands. To repel any such attempt, Washington left General Greene at Springfield with seven hundred Continentals, the Jersey militia, and some cavalry, and himself proceeded to Pompton, in the State of New Jersey, with the main body of the army. It was very difficult to divine what the intentions of Clinton really were; but on the morning of the 23rd of June he advanced rapidly, and in full force, from Elizabethtown to Springfield. Arriving there, the troops opened a vigorous can

nonade, and prepared to enter the place over some bridges which crossed a rivulet in front of the walls. The passage of these bridges was disputed by Greene, but without success, and the town was set on fire by the British. Greene had fallen back to a neighbouring range of hills, and was so strongly posted that his antagonists would not venture to attack him, being probably unaware that his numbers were very small. They accordingly returned to Elizabethtown, pursued by the enraged militia. Continuing their march to Elizabeth Point, they passed over to Staten Island during the night, and by the following morning had completely evacuated the Jerseys. The design of the expedition appears to have been to destroy the American magazines in that locality; but the resistance proved too serious to justify a further advance into a difficult and decidedly hostile country. Washington, on hearing of Clinton's march, hastily returned towards Springfield, but did not arrive until the action was over, and the town destroyed. He shortly afterwards planned an enterprise against a British post at Bergen Point, on the Hudson, opposite to New York. Seventy loyalists were stationed at this post, and it was thought they could be easily subdued. One of the American commander's objects in making this demonstration was to carry off a number of cattle from the small peninsula. So far, the attack, which was conducted by General Wayne, and took place on the 20th of July, was successful; but the loyalists, in their blockhouse of logs, defended themselves with so much gallantry that the Republicans were driven back with considerable loss.

The French fleet, consisting of eight ships of the line, with frigates and other vessels, and having nearly six thousand troops on board, reached the shores of Rhode Island on the 10th of July. This armament, it was announced, was to be followed by a second division; but no second division ever came. A few days later, Lafayette arrived at Newport from the American head-quarters, to consult with his countrymen as to the further course of the campaign; and a plan of combined operations against the enemy in New York, drawn up by Washington, and addressed to Count Rochambeau, was carried with him by the young French Marquis. This plan was formed on the supposition that the French would have a stronger naval force than the English, and would be able to attack the enemy's fleet with a good prospect of success, or at the worst be in a position to block it up in New York harbour. The calculation, however, proved futile; for, after the scheme was arranged, Admiral Graves arrived from England with six ships of the

1780.]

line, which, with those already on the station, gave a total naval force much superior to that of the Chevalier de Ternay. It was agreed, therefore, to wait for reinforcements; and Washington was not sorry for this delay, as his army was yet in a feeble and disorganised condition. He had still only a very inadequate number of troops, and these were so badly apparelled that their commander felt a very natural sentiment of shame in presenting such ragged legions to the smart and well-clad French. On the 20th of August, he wrote to a friend :-"To me it will appear miraculous if our affairs can maintain themselves much longer in their present train. If either the temper or the resources of the country will not permit of an alteration, we may expect soon to be reduced to the humiliating condition of seeing the cause of America upheld in America by foreign arms."

Before the arrival of his allies, Washington had frequently applied to Congress, and to the State Legislatures, for assistance. Congress was not slow in passing resolutions; but its powers permitted it to do little more than recommend certain measures to the local Assemblies, and the latter were slothful and indifferent. The army was recruited in the most parsimonious fashion. Less than a week before the arrival of the French fleet, Washington found that scarcely any of the new levies had arrived in camp, and that Massachusetts had not sent in one man of the reinforcement which a few weeks before it had resolved on contributing. Several of the States had not even informed the Commander-in-Chief of the number of men they intended to furnish. In some quarters, however, a more patriotic feeling appeared. Pennsylvania, in spite of the large element of Quakerism in its population, or perhaps in a spirit of opposition to that element, was particularly earnest in making provision for a vigorous prosecution of the war. The citizens of Philadelphia subscribed largely for giving bounties to new recruits; established a bank for the purpose of supplying the army with provisions; and, by a house-to-house visitation, collected a sufficient sum of money to purchase materials for a number of garments, which were made up by the ladies, and sent on to the army.

Aware of his superiority over the enemy, Sir Henry Clinton made up his mind to strike a sudden and rapid blow against the French at Newport. He embarked six thousand troops at Frog's Neck on the 27th of July, and sailed to Huntington Bay, in Long Island. Washington had by this time received some large reinforcements, and, knowing that the British army at New York had been greatly weakened by the departure of Clinton

383

and his regiments, conceived that he might make a demonstration against that city. Having crossed the Hudson, he advanced towards the south, and might perhaps have ventured on an attack, but for the return of his adversary. The French position at Newport had been strengthened by new works and batteries, and by the arrival of militia from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Clinton feared that the favourable opportunity for assailing the place had passed. Being also alarmed for the safety of New York, owing to the movement of Washington, he landed his men on Long Island, and on the 31st of the month returned whence he had set out. Nevertheless, Admiral Arbuthnot blockaded the French squadron in the harbour of Newport, and compelled the whole of the French contingent to remain there for its protection. Another French squadron, under the Count de Guichen, was expected from the West Indies; but the commander sailed for France, without paying any heed to the United States. The second French division was blockaded at Brest by the British fleet; so that the Americans were not in a much better position than in the early months of the year. They were unable to take any active measures, and were obliged still to be content with a policy of defence. On the other hand, the English General felt disinclined for operations in the field, especially as the season was now rapidly slipping Washington recrossed the Hudson, and encamped below Orangetown, or Tappan, where he stayed till the winter. Clinton remained at New York; and the antagonistic armies continued to watch one another's movements with a close and jealous scrutiny.

away.

Probably neither of the opposing commanders was in good spirits as to the future: Sir Henry Clinton was certainly far from being in a cheerful mood. On the 25th of August, he wrote a secret despatch to Lord George Germaine, in which he took a very grave view of the situation; remarked on the vanity of reckoning on the oppressed loyalists for dispersing Washington's army, or holding any part of the country for the King; and gave it as his deliberate opinion that his force was some thousands too weak to subdue so formidable a rebellion. He complained of Admiral Arbuthnot's failing to render him a cordial, uniform, and animated support, and attributed to the dilatoriness of that officer the fact of the detachment intended for Rhode Island not starting on the contemplated expedition until the French had taken such measures as to render an attack too hazardous. Well might the King, in writing to Lord North, characterise this despatch as "of a very gloomy

cast."

Clinton was on the spot, and knew how great, how terrible, were the difficulties of the situation.

About a month after this despatch was penned, the American and French commanders became personally known to one another. On the 21st of September, Washington and Rochambeau met at Hartford, in Connecticut, where they talked over their plans for the next campaign, without, however, being able to settle anything with precision. As a compliment to their French allies, and a recognition of the unity of the two nations, the American officers now wore cockades of black and white the former being the American colour, the

latter the French. At Hartford, and also at headquarters, Washington managed to present the best aspects of his army to the foreigners, and to exclude the worst. A French observer (the Marquis de Chastellux) testified in glowing terms to the soldierlike demeanour of the general officers, and to their politeness and ability; and spoke with admiration of the handsome equipage of the Commander-inChief, of the battalion of the Guards, of the numerous grooms holding fine horses, of the regularity with which all things were ordered in camp, and of the perfection of the discipline. Yet there was a shabby background to this picture, and Washington was not the man to forget it.

FRANCE being now upon the scene of action as the military ally of the United States, it became incumbent on the rulers of the latter to consult their great patron on all affairs of importance, and to give sufficient information as to the means and resources of the Republic to enable the French monarch to proportion his own armaments to the necessities of the case. On the 31st of January, 1780, Congress resolved to lay before the French Minister, for transmission to his Sovereign, certain intelligence, which was to the effect that the United States confidently relied on bringing into the field, in the ensuing campaign, an army of twenty-five thousand effectives, exclusive of commissioned officers; that this army could be reinforced by militia to any extent required; that supplies of provisions for all the forces could readily be obtained; that further supplies for the use of such troops as France might send should be laid up in magazines, and that these magazines should be put under the agent of the French Marine. The assistance of a competent naval force was directly asked for; Congress declaring that without such a force little more could be attempted by the

American army than straitening the quarters of the enemy, and covering the interior parts of the country. The superiority of the English at sea, it was observed, enabled them to change their object and operations with the utmost facility, while those of the United States were rendered difficult by the great extent of country they had to defend At the same time, Congress assured the French King that the people of the United States-whatever might have been insinuated to the contrary by the British Cabinet, with respect to some members of the Federation-were unanimously resolved to secure their independence and their liberties.

This communication was made some mouths before the arrival of the French fleet and army, and it shows that in those early days of 1780 the American leaders were not at all confident of their ability to expel or subdue the English army, with out the active co-operation of France. At that time the South was being threatened; the North was kept in constant alarm and watchfulness by the presence of the Royal forces at New York, and the Middle States would probably have re

ration, she used all her influence to bring Spain likewise into the alliance, and to this end instructed her Minister at Philadelphia to discuss the subject with Congress, in order that the latter might consent to such terms as would be likely to satisfy the Spanish monarch. Although at that date Spain had an accredited agent at Philadelphia, his business was transacted through the French Minister; and the chief of the two Bourbon Powers seems to have been authorised to speak on behalf of the other. France, said the representative of that country, most earnestly wished to see an alliance between the United States and Spain; but his Catholic Majesty (as the Spanish Sovereign was called) held certain engagements on 85-VOL. II.

should be prohibited from making any settlements or conquests in the territories lying on the east side of the Mississippi, then possessed by Great Britain, but possibly destined to be conquered by the Spanish arms. In briefer language, Spain was very willing to aid the Anglo-American colonies in striking down the power of England, but only on condition that the former should forswear for ever both the South and the West. The Floridas had been ceded to England at the Peace of 1763, and had recently been the scene of a good deal of irregular and predatory warfare-the Georgians and South Carolinians having made incursions into the neighbouring province, to revenge an invasion by the Floridians.