winter that followed. The blow was one from which they never recovered, and there was no more trouble with the Indians during the war.

Storming of Stony Point.-One further important affair took place in the North during 1779. Washington planned an assault on the British fort at Stony Point, on the Hudson, and it was brilliantly carried out by General Anthony Wayne. The fort was taken by surprise, Wayne and his men marching on a dark night, with unloaded muskets, over the causeway that led through the marshes to the fort. Then ascending the hill, they rushed on the works with the bayonet, and in a few minutes the fort was theirs and its garrison were prisoners. Removing the valuable stores, they destroyed the works and returned to camp. The fort at Paulus Hook (on the site of Jersey City) was taken in the same manner. These successes put an end to the marauding expeditions which Clinton was sending into Connecticut.

ANTHONY WAYNE.

A Great Ocean Victory.-During the years named the Americans had done little on the ocean. Privateers had taken numerous prizes, but the lack of war vessels prevented any further success. In 1779 there was a change. Paul Jones, a bold seaman of Scotch birth, made a daring raid on the British coast, where he burned shipping lying in harbor. On September 23, being then in command of the Bon Homme Richard and some smaller ships, supplied by France, he met a British merchant fleet convoyed by the frigate Serapis and a smaller consort.

The Richard was much inferior to the Serapis in weight of guns and general efficiency. But it had Paul Jones for

commander, a man who did not know when he was whipped. As the battle went on the ships met and were lashed together. The fighting now became desperate. The Richard was riddled by the guns of the Serapis, and was filling with water, while its upper works were on fire. But Jones fought on unyieldingly. In the end the Serapis was forced to surrender, nearly its whole crew being killed or wounded. Commodore Jones transferred his men and colors to the prize and left the Richard to the waves, into which it soon sank. The spirit of this remarkable man is shown by his reply to the captain of the Serapis, who hailed him in the height of the battle and asked if he had struck his colors. Jones roared back through the din, "I have not yet begun to fight."

JOHN PAUL JONES.

A Statement of Results.-Four years of war in the North had passed, and all the British had to show, in return for their strenuous efforts and costly armaments, was the possession of two towns, New York and Newport. For these they had paid far more than the towns were worth. The colonists had withstood them successfully, but not without great loss and suffering. Their armies were poorly sustained, the men poorly clad and fed, Washington feebly seconded in his efforts, the people at times greatly depressed and despairing. Yet for all this there seems to have been no absolute need.

The true strength of the colonies was really never put forth. The Continental Congress grew weaker as it grew older. The wisdom of its early councils was replaced by feebleness and inefficiency. Its members listened to de

tractions of Washington and hampered him in his efforts. The energetic Schuyler was replaced at the moment of victory by the feeble Gates. The treacherous Lee was again made second in command. The army was needlessly allowed to starve and freeze at Valley Forge. The paper money issued was sustained by no regular system of taxation, and rapidly sank in value. No effort was made for a close union of the colonies, and they drifted apart rather than flowed together. There was no unity of effort, no central authority, no definite system of finance. Of the people, the mass of them worked quietly on their farms, knowing of the war only as news of distant operations, and not supporting it as they might have done under a better administration of affairs. Thus, under this loose combination of thirteen colonies, each working by itself and some doing very little for the cause, the one thing surprising is that the invaders made so little progress. It was mainly due to two things,-the inefficiency of their generals and officials, and the masterly generalship of the American commander, George Washington.

4. THE WAR IN THE SOUTH.

The British go South.-As if despairing of success in the North, the British now turned their attention to the South, hoping probably to capture and hold the Southern colonies. In December, 1778, Savannah was attacked in force and easily taken. Augusta was next captured, and the thinlysettled Georgia fell under British control. Prevost, the British general, now advanced against Charleston, but finding himself pursued by General Lincoln, in command of the American militia, he hastened to return.

The Repulse at Savannah.-Nothing further of importance was done until September, 1779, when General Lin

coln, aided by the French fleet under D'Estaing, attempted to recapture Savannah. The effort proved disastrous. In the assault more than a thousand men were slain and the Americans repulsed. Among the dead was Count Pulaski, a noble Pole who had joined the American cause. The brave Sergeant Jasper also fell, in his hands the banner which his regiment had received at Fort Moultrie.

The Loss of Charleston.-Georgia having been subdued, the British turned their strength against South Carolina. In the spring of 1780 General Clinton led a powerful force against Charleston, then defended by General Lincoln. Attacked by land and sea, besieged for forty days, and for forty-eight hours exposed to a bombardment from two hundred cannon, Lincoln was at length forced to surrender, and on May 12 the leading city of the South fell into British hands.

South Carolina Overrun.-Clinton now returned north, leaving Cornwallis in command. He prepared to overrun South Carolina, as his predecessor had Georgia. Expeditions were sent in several directions through the State, the only efficient resistance being that made by the partisan commanders, Marion, Sumter, Pickens, and others, who at the head of small but active forces greatly annoyed the invaders, cut off detachments, and made South Carolina a very hot place to hold. On the British side the main success was due to the hard-riding Colonel Tarleton, whose daring was vitiated by ruthless cruelty.

Gates Dofeated.-Meanwhile, with great exertions, an army had been collected in North Carolina and placed under the command of General Gates, who was still given credit as "the conqueror of Burgoyne." The two armies met at Camden, in South Carolina, on August 16, 1780. In the battle that ensued the militia broke before the

charge of the British regulars, and the few Continental regiments were overwhelmed. No American army ever suffered a worse defeat. The militia were completely scattered, Gates being seen soon afterward eighty miles distant and without a soldier. Two days later Sumter's forces were met and almost annihilated by Tarleton's dragoons. When summer ended South Carolina was at the mercy of Cornwallis, the only resistance left being that of Marion and his fellow-partisans.

Tory Warfare.-The Carolinas were full of Tories, many of whom joined the British army, while others plundered and murdered their patriot neighbors. Against these the partisan warfare was largely directed. On October 7 a force of eleven hundred British and Tories was attacked at King's Mountain by hastily gathered frontier riflemen, and utterly defeated, four hundred and fifty-six being killed and wounded and the rest taken prisoners.

Marion's Method.-Marion, the most famous of the partisan leaders, had but a small force under his command, and lurked in swamps and forests, sallying out unexpectedly upon detached bands. In this way the foe were bitterly annoyed, and lost heavily in the aggregate from these stinging attacks, for which they in vain sought revenge. Marion was only to be found when he was ready to strike.1

1 Among the interesting anecdotes told of this active warrior is the following: A British officer, who had been sent to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, found Marion on a sort of woodland island in the swamps, and was invited by him to dine. The dinner consisted of sweet potatoes, roasted and served on bark platters. The officer was surprised to learn that his host considered this as ample diet, that he often fared worse, and at that time had neither blanket nor hat. On his return the officer resigned his commission, saying that it was useless to fight against men who made war on fare like this.