CHAPTER of confusion. XXXIII. The new troops suffered terribly from the small-pox, of which disorder Thomas soon died. A post 1776. at the Cedars, above Montreal, garrisoned by four hundred men, disgracefully surrendered to a party composed principally of Canadians and Indians; and a hundred men more were lost in an attempt to recover it. То save these prisoners from being murdered by the Indians -so it was alleged, but the British denied it-Arnold, who commanded at Montreal, signed a cartel of exchange, by which it was agreed to release as many prisoners in the hands of the Americans. But Congress refused to ratify this agreement; and this refusal presently became a serious obstacle in the way of any regular exchange of prisoners. As the spring advanced, several British and German regiments began to arrive in the St. Lawrence. They made their rendezvous on both sides of the river, about half way from Quebec to Montreal. Sullivan, who had June 4. just assumed the chief command, very anxious to do something brilliant, sent Thompson with two thousand men, including St. Clair's, Wayne's, and Irving's regi ments, to surprise one of these divisions. This attack was repulsed with a loss of two hundred and thirty in killed and prisoners, including among the latter Thompson himself and Colonel Irving. Wayne was badly wounded. Pressed by the superior force of the enemy, raised by successive arrivals to thirteen thousand men, the northern army retreated out of Canada, in the emphatic words of John Adams, "disgraced, defeated, discontented, dispirited, diseased, undisciplined, eaten up with vermin, no clothes, beds, blankets, nor medicines, and no victuals but salt pork and flour," and a scanty supply of that. The retreat was rapid, but well conducted and without loss. Chambly, Montreal, and St. XXXIII. John's passed back again into the hands of the British. CHAPTER The American army retired up Lake Champlain to Crown Point. Hazen's regiment accompanied the re- 1776. treating army, and continued to serve under the same commander to the end of the war. Carleton was presently rewarded for the recovery of Canada by the Order of the Bath, while Sullivan received the thanks of Congress for his prudent retreat. Shortly after the army reached Crown Point, Gates, who had been made a major general with that view, arrived and assumed the command. Partisans of the American cause were more numerous in Nova Scotia than in Canada. They had formerly petitioned Congress, and had recently opened a communication with Washington. The distance, isolation, and weakness of Nova Scotia made assistance impracticable; but more than once, at subsequent periods, Massachusetts was solicited to aid in revolutionizing that province. The Convention of South Carolina, acting on the advice of Congress, and following the example of New Hampshire, resolved itself into an Assembly, and chose March 24. from its own body a legislative council of thirteen members. By the concurring vote of this council and Assembly, John Rutledge was chosen president, and Henry Laurens vice-president. Of an executive council of six members, over which the vice-president was to preside as an ex-officio seventh member, three were chosen by the legislative council and three by the Assembly. judiciary was also organized, William Henry Drayton being appointed chief justice. Such was the temporary form of government adopted in South Carolina, to last during the war. Though the three regiments already authorized were far from full, two new regiments of ri A XXXIII. CHAPTER flemen were ordered to be raised. A new batch of paper money was also issued to pay expenses, of the amount 1776. of which the Germans and others in the back counties began loudly to complain. May. The British squadron from Ireland, destined to operate against the Carolinas, arrived, after great delays, at Cape Fear, where Martin and Clinton, with his detachment from Boston, were still waiting for it. It consisted of ten ships of war under Sir Peter Parker, and had seven regiments on board, of which Clinton assumed the command. All hope of co-operation from the interior of North Carolina being dissipated by the defeat of M'Donald, it was resolved to attack Charleston. Informed of this intended expedition through a package of intercepted letters to Governor Eden and others, Congress had appointed Lee to command in the southern department. On the first alarm, several regiments of Virginia and North Carolina troops had marched for Charleston. Joined to the South Carolina regiments and the militia, they made up a force of near six thousand men; but Lee esteemed the prospect of a successful resistance by no means very promising. After considerable delay at Cape Fear, the June 4. British fleet appeared off the harbor of Charleston, but before the final attack was made three weeks elapsed, busily employed by the provincials in throwing up fortifications. The entrance to Charleston harbor was guarded by an unfinished fort on Sullivan's Island, in which Moultrie was stationed with his regiment. The British plan was, while part of the fleet bombarded in front, and the remainder gained a station to rake the ramparts from end to end, to land troops to attack the fort in the Three of the British vessels, while attempting to June 28. gain a raking position, became entangled among shoals, and grounded. Those in front, received with a very rear. XXXIII. warm cannonade, were obliged to retire with severe dam- CHAPTER age and loss. The naval attack having failed, the attempt to land was not persevered in. One of the ground- 1776. ed vessels stuck fast, and the next day was abandoned and set on fire. Lord Campbell, the ex-governor, who fought as a volunteer on board the flag ship, was mortally wounded. Without making any further attempt, the squadron sailed to join the main British army, which had arrived in the Bay of New York on the very day of the attack on Fort Moultrie. Dunmore's ravages in Virginia and the Tory insurrection in North Carolina gave a strong impulse to the idea of independence in the southern provinces, while the evacuation of Boston greatly strengthened the friends of that measure in the north. The Continental Congress had taken a new step in that direction by declaring all March 13. British vessels whatever lawful prize. This was presently followed up by regulations on the subject of trade, by which the American Association was April 6. so modified as to allow the export of produce to all countries not under the dominion of Great Britain, and a frec trade in all goods not of British origin, except in slaves, the importation of which was still prohibited. It was recommended, at the same time, to the colonial Assemblies and Conventions, to make proper regulations for the entry and clearance of vessels. Silas Deane had been already dispatched to France by the Secret Committee as a commercial and diplomatic agent. Though urgently requested by the Committee of Observation and Inspection for the city of Philadelphia, the Assembly of Pennsylvania refused, by a large majority, to April 6. recall their instructions to their delegates. Schemes, in consequence, began to be entered into for setting aside the proprietary government. The North Carolina Con XXXIII. CHAPTER vention authorized their delegates to join with the other colonies in declaring independence. The Assemblies of 1776. Rhode Island and Connecticut indicated their inclinaApril 23. tion by dispensing with the oath of allegiance to the May 7. king. May 6. At Encouraged by symptoms every where apparent, ConMay 10. gress, on the motion of John Adams, adopted a resolution, recommending to the Assemblies and Conventions of the colonies, in all cases where it had not already been done, to establish governments adequate to their exigencies. Before this resolution was promulgated, the May 15. Convention of Virginia appointed a committee to draw up a Bill of Rights and a Frame of Government. the same time, the Virginia delegates in Congress were instructed to propose in that body a declaration of independence. That very day Congress had voted, by way of preamble to their resolution above recited, that "all oaths for the support of government under the crown of Great Britain were irreconcilable with reason and good conscience; and that the exercise of every kind of authority under that crown ought to be totally suppressed, and all the powers of government exerted, under authority from the people of the colonies, for the maintenance of internal peace, and the defense of their lives, liberties, and properties against the hostile invasions and cruel depredations of their enemies." Steps were taken in Philadelphia to carry out this recommendation. The Pennsylvania Assembly met a May 20. few days after, but a public meeting protested against their proceeding to business; nor was it without difficulty that they obtained a quorum. In Maryland the resolution did not meet with full reMay 21. sponse. The Convention voted, on the contrary, that it was, not necessary to suppress every exercise of author |