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for the attack. The approach to the town, which stands on the west bank of the river Thames, was defended by two forts, stationed, about a mile off, on both sides of the stream. The western structure was entitled Fort Trumbull; the eastern, situated on Groton Hill, was known as Fort Griswold. these, the former was attacked by Arnold himself, who met with very little opposition. The militia who had charge of the works crossed the river to Fort Griswold, and Arnold pushed on, and took possession of the town. The eastern fort was manned by a hundred and fifty-seven men, commanded by Colonel William Ledyard, brother of the celebrated traveller. It was now attacked by

defenders after they had laid down their arms, and that acts of wanton cruelty were committed. A large proportion of the assailants consisted of Hessians and American Royalists, and the rancour of the latter towards their countrymen seems to have been extreme. On the side of the Americans, eighty-five men were killed, and sixty woundedfor the most part, after all opposition was over. The British lost forty-eight killed, and a hundred and forty-three wounded. The commanders on both sides-Eyre and Ledyard-were amongst those who perished in the assault on Fort Griswold. New London itself was set on fire by order of Arnold, who. it has been related, stood in the

belfry of a church, and witnessed the progress of the flames, though the place was almost within sight of the spot where he was born, and close to objects which must have been associated with his childhood and his youth.* Arnold's own account of the matter, in his official report, is that he simply fired the public stores, and that the explosion of the powder, followed by a change of wind, caused the flames to extend to the rest of the town, which, in spite of efforts to save it, was destroyed. Be this as it may, the catastrophe was lamentable, and it resulted in reducing many persons from affluence to beggary. On retreating to his boats, Arnold was followed by the yeomanry of the country, who killed and wounded several of his men, and would doubtless have hanged him on the nearest tree, had he not escaped their fury.

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The operations against New London had simply added to the enmity and anger of the New Englanders they had utterly failed to effect the purpose which Sir Henry Clinton hoped to serve. Washington was so convinced of the importance of proceeding against Cornwallis that he declined to turn back, and continued his march towards the South. On the day when the outrage took place, he had reached the head of the river Elk, whence, leaving the army for awhile, he pushed on to Baltimore. Arriving there on the 8th, he left on the 9th, accompanied only by Colonel Humphreys, being resolved to spend a short time at Mount Vernon, his paternal estate in Virginia, which he had not seen for six years and a half. There had been a temporary separation of the American and French armies, the latter remaining at Philadelphia a little longer than the former. At the head of the Elk, the provision for transporting the troops, ordnance, and stores by water was found to be insufficient, and it was arranged that a part should proceed by land. Washington himself reached the head-quarters of Lafayette, near Williamsburgh, on the 14th of September; and the army was re-united at the same place on the 25th.

Count de Grasse, with three thousand troops on board his fleet, had arrived in Chesapeake Bay towards the end of August, and the welcome news of his presence greeted the allied commanders during the early part of their march to Virginia. The French Admiral (who on his voyage had captured the packet from Charleston in which Lord Rawdon was returning to England) was immediately

Sparks's Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold. The watching of the flames from the belfry, however, is mentioned by Mr. Sparks as a mere tradition, and has a rather suspicious resemblance to the apocryphal anecdote of Nero.

informed by Lafayette of the posture of affairs in that part of America, and of the plan of operations against the British army. De Grasse thereupon detached four ships of the line, and some frigates, to block up the entrance to York River, and convey the reinforcement of troops to Lafayette's camp. The rest of his flect took up a station at the entrance to the bay. Admiral Hood, who had been detached by Rodney from the English fleet in the West Indies, with instructions to counteract the designs of de Grasse, arrived off the Capes of Virginia a few days before the French seaman, and, finding no enemy there, proceeded to Sandyhook. About the same period, de Barras sailed with his fleet from Newport, to join his countryman in Chesapeake Bay; and Admiral Graves started in pursuit on the 31st of August, with nineteen sail of the line. Reaching his place of destination on the 5th of September, before the arrival of Barras, Graves saw the French fleet of Count de Grasse, consisting of twenty-four vessels, lying at anchor between the Capes. De Grasse was taken by surprise, and, though stronger than his adversary by five ships, resolved to slip his cables, and depart with all speed. The hostile fleets actually passed one another, the one entering, the other leaving, the bay; but Graves at once tacked about, overtook the French, and gave them battle. The fight continued from four in the afternoon till nightfall, and much damage was received on both sides, without any decisive result. The fleets continued in sight of each other five days; but de Grasse evaded any renewal of the engagement, which Graves felt himself not sufficiently strong to force on his opponent. By the 11th of September, the French Admiral was again in Chesapeake Bay, where he found de Barras, who had in the meanwhile arrived from Newport with fourteen transports, laden with heavy artillery and other appliances for carrying on a siege. Graves followed de Grasse to the Chesapeake, when, seeing himself confronted by a force so greatly superior to his own, he abandoned all idea of further operations, and shortly afterwards left for New York.

The departure of the English fleet was followed, on the 19th of September, by an interview between Washington and de Grasse on board the Admiral's ship, the Ville de Paris, then lying off Cape Henry. The vessel, it may be stated in passing, is believed to have been the largest then afloat. It carried 106 guns; had been built at great cost and with much scientific exactness; and was presented by the citizens of Paris, at whose charge it had been constructed, to Louis XVI. Not long after, it was taken by Rodney, and, together with other

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prizes, foundered in a tempest while on its way to England. In visiting this ship, Washington was accompanied by Rochambeau, and the three chiefs consulted on the plan of their campaign. The assistance of de Grasse proved to be so bound by conditions that it was less valuable than had been anticipated. He gave his colleagues to understand that, in accordance with precise instructions from his Government, he could not continue on that station beyond the 1st of November. He also informed them that he had heard of the arrival at New York of Admiral Digby, with a reinforcement of six ships of the line, so that he expected to be presently attacked by a force little inferior to his own. Regarding the position he then held as unfavourable to a naval engagement, he was extremely desirous of leaving the bay at once, so as to encounter the enemy in the open sea. Washington had some difficulty in dissuading him from this purpose, the execution of which might have greatly prejudiced the combined operations against Lord Cornwallis. The American Commander-in-Chief was deeply impressed with the necessity of making an immediate attempt at some decisive action. It was most essential that the apathy which had been gradually creeping over the country should be powerfully aroused. The Eastern States, in particular, now that the war had rolled a long way from their own shores, were growing indifferent to the progress of military events. They were practically in the enjoyment of independence, and, in the absence of a common national feeling between New England and the South, were not very eager to make sacrifices for those whom they regarded as aliens. A happy combination of circumstances opened the way for a vigorous campaign, and the conference terminated in a general resolve to press the English Earl with unsparing energy.

Yorktown is a small village on the southern bank of York River-a stream in which ships of the line can ride with safety, and which empties itself into Chesapeake Bay. Eight miles to the south lies the James River, which also falls into that great receptacle of waters; and the two channels form between them a narrow peninsula, very ill-adapted for an army threatened by enemies, owing to the difficulty of retreating in case of the worst. Opposite Yorktown, on the northern shore of the York River, is Gloucester Point, which, projecting considerably into the stream, narrows it to the breadth of about a mile. Both these places were occupied by Lord Cornwallis, who proceeded to fortify them. Nevertheless, the Earl did not regard the locality as at all suited to defence against

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a powerful foe; but he conceived himself bound by the instructions of Clinton, who, however, afterwards declared that his orders were not compulsory,. but only permissive. On their return to England,. these two eminent Generals carried on a paper war on the first causes of the great disaster which occurred at Yorktown, but without convicting. each other of more than errors of judgment under very perplexing circumstances. On the 16th of September, Cornwallis wrote to Clinton:"Thisplace is in no state of defence. If you cannot relieve me very soon, you must expect to hear the worst." The main body of Cornwallis's army was now encamped near Yorktown, under the protection of redoubts and field-works, while Colonel Tarleton, with six or seven hundred men, occupied Gloucester Point. The Earl hoped to have all his surrounding fortifications finished by the 1st of October, by which time Clinton proposed to recommence operations on the Chesapeake. As long as he had only Lafayette to guard against, Cornwallis thought himself secure in his position; but the French Marquis was taking measures to bring up troops from various points, so as to enclose his adversary on all sides but the sea. Even before the arrival of the allied forces under Washington and Rochambeau, and of the French fleet under de Grasse, the situation of Cornwallis was grave: at a later date, it became hopeless. The French Admiral, in his eagerness to return to the West Indies, proposed to Lafayette to make an attack on the British position with the American and French troops under his command, without waiting for the combined force from the vicinity of New York, and offered to aid him with marines and sailors from the ships. He was strongly of opinion that both Yorktown and Gloucester might be carried by storm; but Lafayette thought the loss of life would be too serious to justify the attempt.

Cornwallis had but seven thousand troops with which to encounter the vastly superior army that was being drawn about him. His only chance was in extending his defensive works, and thus making an assault almost impossible. By the latter end of September, he had erected at Yorktown seven redoubts and six batteries, connected by entrenchments, on the land side; along the river was another line of batteries; and on each flank of the town were the natural defences of deep ravines and creeks, the heads of which, in front of the town, and at the point of junction with York River, were about half a mile apart, while along their course the English General had planted redoubts, field-works, and felled trees, with their branches

pointing outwards. The channel of York River was obstructed by sunken vessels; ships of war were stationed under protection of the guns of the forts; and Gloucester Point, on the opposite side of the river, was also strongly fortified. Such was the state of the defences when, on the 25th of September, the greater number of the French and American troops encamped near Williamsburgh. On the night of that day, Washington and his staff bivouacked on the ground in the open air. The Commander-in-Chief slept under a mulberry-tree, the projecting root of which served for his pillow. Next day, the allied armies took up positions on the two sides of Beaver Dam Creek; the Americans, who formed the right wing, occupying the east side,the French, to the left, covering the western bank.

A letter from Sir Henry Clinton reached Cornwallis on the evening of the 26th. It informed him of the arrival of Admiral Digby, who with a fleet of twenty-three ships of the line, and above five thousand troops, would sail to his assistance about the 5th of October. A heavy firing would be made by them on arriving at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, and Cornwallis, if all went well at Yorktown, was to respond with three separate columns of smoke, or with four should he still possess the post at Gloucester Point. The Earl at once replied: "I have ventured these last two days to look General Washington's whole force, in the face, in the position on the outside of my works, and have the pleasure to assure your Excellency that there is but one wish throughout the army, which is that the enemy would advance.

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shall retire this night within the works, and have no doubt, if relief arrives in any reasonable time, York and Gloucester will be both in the possession of his Majesty's troops. I believe your Excellency must depend more on the sound of our cannon than the signal of smokes for information; however, I will attempt it on the Gloucester side." The feeling of despondency had not then set in, or at least was not yet avowed, though, as we have seen, the General did not think his position a good one. That same night, Cornwallis abandoned his outworks, and drew his troops within the town-a step of very doubtful propriety, since it diminished the defences of the position, and confined the soldiers to very narrow quarters. The outworks were next day seized upon by detachments of American light infantry and French troops, and proved serviceable in covering the men employed in throwing up breast works. Counting Americans and French, Washington had now at his disposal an army of full twelve thousand men, exclusive of the Virginian militia. On the night On the night

of the 28th of September, these combined forces encamped within two miles of Yorktown, and General de Choisy was sent across York River with a sufficient detachment to watch the enemy on the side of Gloucester Point. Very shortly the line of the besiegers (where the Americans still formed the right, and the French the left, wing) described a semicircle, each end of which rested on the river, thus completing the investment by land, while Count de Grasse kept guard towards the sea. On the 3rd of October, Choisy succeeded in cutting off all communication by land between Gloucester and the country.

The first parallel before Yorktown was commenced by General Lincoln on the 6th of October. It was within six hundred yards of the British lines, extending nearly two miles, and was begun during a very dark night with so much secrecy that Cornwallis's troops knew nothing about it until daylight. The fortifications then opened fire, but the men were by that time under cover, and continued working with great self-possession. In less than three days the parallel was completed, and on the afternoon of the 9th a few of the batteries were ready to fire upon the town. Washington himself put the first match to the first gun, and a furious discharge of cannon and mortars burst forth, producing a serious effect on the buildings against which it was directed. The batteries thus brought into play were soon aided by three others managed by the French; and the cannonade was kept up almost incessantly for three or four days. Many of the English guns were dismounted or silenced; several men were killed; and the fortifications suffered to a serious extent. All day, the air was laced by the black lines of shells crossing each other's paths; by night, the blackness changed into a brilliant and fiery red, filling the heavens with a glare as of innumerable meteors. The French batteries, which were to the north-west of the town, threw red-hot shot, and in this way set fire one night to a large English ship and three transports. The terrible explosions of the vessels, and the flames and bursting shells illuminating the darkness, produced a spectacle of the most impressive kind, but did not shake the confidence of the heroic defenders of Yorktown. They had, however, much to trouble them by this time. The cavalry were greatly distressed for want of forage for their horses, and many of the animals were slain, and sent floating down the river. Moreover, an epidemic had broken out in the town, and hundreds were stretched helpless on their pallets. British and Germans bore their hardships with great patience and courage, and everything was done that resolution and mili