Late in the spring the marquis la Fayette returned from France with the pleasing intelligence that his government had resolved to assist the United States, by employing this year a respectable land and naval force in America. This grateful information reanimated the public mind, and gave a new stimulus to the activity of congress, and of the governments of the several states, that preparation might be made to co-operate with the French armament on its arrival. Vigorous measures were in consequence adopted by congress and by the states to recruit the army, to lay up magazines, and to enable the general to comply with the reasonable expectations of their allies; but the agency of different bodies was necessary to carry these public measures into effect, and their operation was dilatory.
Early in July the first division of French troops reached the American shore, consisting of between five and six thousand men, with a large train of battering and field artillery. These forces were commanded by count de Rochambeau, whose government had placed him under the command of general Washington. The count brought information that a second division would follow him as soon as transports could be fitted out to bring them. The principal French and American officers assiduously cultivated a mutual affection between the two armies; and the commander-in-chief recommended to the officers of the United States to ingraft on the American cockade a white relief, as an emblem of the alliance of the two powers. On the arrival of the French, the Americans were unprepared to act with them, nor did the American general know what force would ultimately be brought into the field; and before any thing could be effected, information was brought that the second armament destined for America was blocked up in the harbor of Brest, and would not this season reach the American continent. The flattering prospect of terminating the war by the conquest of the British posts in a moment vanished, and elevated views of brilliant success were succeeded by grievous disappointment.
In this season of difficulty, of embarrassment, and of gloom, a circumstance occurred which excited the deepest interest throughout both armies, and indeed in the breast of the inhabitants of all the states. The American army was stationed in the strong-holds of the high lands on both sides of the North river; and for the defence of this position, and to keep command of the river, a fortress had been built at West Point, which was deemed impregnable, and had acquired the appellation of the Gibraltar of America. Of this post general Arnold solicited the command, and general Washington, far from suspecting any sinister views in an officer who had been so zealous and active in the cause of his country, complied with the solicitation. Arnold had, however, no sooner become invested with the command, than he carried on a negotiation with Sir Henry Clinton, by which it was agreed, that he should make such a disposition of his forces, as would enable the British general effectually to surprise West Point. The agent employed in this negotiation was major André, adjutant-general of the British army; and to favor the communications, the Vulture, a British sloop of war, had been previously stationed in North river, as near Arnold’s posts as could be without exciting suspicion. On the night of the 21st of September a boat was sent from the shore to fetch major André, and Arnold met him at the beach, without the posts of both armies. Their business not being finished until it was too near morning for André to return to the Vulture, Arnold, telling him he must be concealed until thenext night, conducted him within one of the American posts, where he continued with him the following day. The Vulture having in the mean time been compelled to alter her position, André could return to New York in no other way than by land; changing his uniform, therefore, which he had worn under a surtout, for a plain dress, he set out on horseback, under the name of John Anderson, with a passport, signed by Arnold, ‘to go to the lines of White Plains, or lower if he thought proper, he being on public business.’ When advanced a great part of the way, he was stopped by three of the New York militia, and several papers, containing exact returns of the state of the forces, ordnance, and defences at West Point, were found in his boots. The captors, disdaining a proffered bribe of a purse of gold and permanent provision and promotion, on condition of their conveying and accompanying him to New York, delivered him a prisoner to lieutenant-colonel Jameson, who commanded the outposts. André, with the incautious permission of Jameson, procured a letter to be sent to Arnold, informing him of his detention,which gave the traitor opportunity to escape on board the Vulture,[136] in which he reached New York in safety.At this very hour Washington arrived on his return from a conference with the French general at Hartford. He repaired, without delay, to the fort of West Point, where, however, he could learn nothing of a decisive import. But some orders, issued by Arnold the day before, redoubled his suspicions; he returned to the quarters of the general, and at this instant Jameson’s messenger presented himself, and delivered the packet with which he was charged. Washington seemed for the moment overwhelmed by the discovery of a crime which ruined the fame of an American general, and wounded the honor of the American army. Those who were near him anxiously interrogated his looks in silence, which he broke by saying, ‘I thought that an officer of courage and ability, who had often shed his blood for his country, was entitled to confidence, and I gave him mine. I am convinced now, and for the rest of my life, that we should never trust those who are wanting in probity, whatever abilities they may possess. Arnold has betrayed us.’ Meanwhile, the precautions required by the occasion were everywhere taken. General Heath, a faithful and vigilant officer, was substituted for Arnold at West Point; the commanders of the other posts were admonished to be on their guard; Green, who had been invested with the command of the army during the absence of Washington, recalled within the forts the garrisons which the traitor had dispersed, and marched a strong division near to the lines. General Washington referred the case of André to the examination and decision of a board, consisting of fourteen officers, who founded their report on his own statements; they reported it as their unanimous opinion, ‘that major André ought to be considered as a spy, and that, agreeably to the laws and usages of nations, he should suffer death;’and he was, in accordance with their sentence, hung as a spy.[137]
Capture of Major André.
When the winter of 1780 commenced, the troops of the northern army retired to the quarters which they had last occupied. Again they endured distress at which patriotism feels indignant and humanity weeps. The harvest had been abundant; plenty reigned in the land, while want was still felt in the camp of its defenders. Lassitude had succeeded enthusiasm in the breasts of the people, and congress exerted its powers with too little vigor to draw forth the resources of the country. The soldiers of the Pennsylvania line stationed at Morristown, New Jersey, complained that, in addition to sustaining sufferings common to all, they were retained in service contrary to the terms of their enlistments. In the night of the 1st of January, thirteen hundred, on a concerted signal, paraded under arms, and declared their intention of marching to Philadelphia, and demanding of congress a redress of their grievances. The officers strove to compel them to relinquish their purpose. In the attempt, one was killed and several were wounded. General Wayne presented his pistols, as if intending to fire. They held their bayonets to his breast; ‘We love and respect you,’ said they; ‘but if you fire you are a dead man. We are not going to the enemy. On the contrary, if they were now to come out, you should see us fight under your orders with as much alacrity as ever. But we will be amused no longer; we are determined to obtain what is our justdue.’ They elected temporary officers, and moved off in a body towards Princeton. General Wayne, to prevent them from plundering the inhabitants, forwarded provisions for their use. The next day he followed, and requested them to appoint a man from each regiment, to state to him their complaints; a conference was accordingly held, but he refused to comply with their demands. They then proceeded in good order to Princeton, where three emissaries from Sir Henry Clinton met them, and made liberal offers to entice them from the service of congress. The offers were indignantly rejected, and the emissaries seized and executed as spies. Here they were also met by a committee of congress, and a deputation from the state of Pennsylvania; and the latter, granting a part of their demands, succeeded in persuading them to return to their duty. This mutiny, and another in the Jersey line, which was instantly suppressed, aroused the attention of the states to the miserable condition of their troops. The amount of three months’ pay was raised and forwarded to them in specie; it was received with joy, as affording an evidence that their country was not unmindful of their sufferings.
Mutiny.
The year on which we now enter decided the important contest which engaged the attention of Europe, and of all the civilized world, in favor of liberty, and, we must add, of justice. The boon of independence was not, however, gained without adding to the long list of widows and orphans, nor without augmenting the catalogue of cruelties more horrid than those of the Indian tribes, because perpetrated by those who had no accumulated antipathy of ages to palliate their hostility, but who only yesterday were friends and brothers. The inhabitants of the Carolinas endured calamity and distress from which humanity revolts. About equally divided in political sentiments, village was opposed to village, and neighbor to neighbor, and their hostility became embittered by attack and reprisal,until pillage, burning, and murder, became familiar to all.[138] Each party aimed at theextirpation of the other, and the whole country presented a scene of slaughter and of blood. The American generals seized every occasion to discountenance such vindictive and barbarous conduct, while, with few exceptions, the British permitted and even accelerated their perpetration.
The reduction of Savannah and Charleston encouraged the British to a vigorous invasion of North Carolina. The whole army of general Green, which had at the close of last year advanced from Hillsborough to Charlottetown, consisted of about two thousand men, more than half of whom were militia. With this inconsiderable body of troops, miserably provided, general Green took the field against a superior regular force, which had already marched in triumph two hundred miles from the point of its debarkation. Soon after Green took the command, he divided his force, and sent general Morgan with a respectable detachment to the western extremity of South Carolina, where the tories were destroying the whigs without mercy and without restraint, and marched with the main body to Hick’s creek, on the north side of the Pedee. On the entrance of general Morgan into the district of Ninety-six, lord Cornwallis, who was preparing for the invasion of North Carolina, that he might not leave an enemy in his rear, ordered colonel Tarleton to proceed with about eleven hundred men, and drive him from his position. Tarleton had two field-pieces, and a superiority both of infantry and cavalry. With these advantages, he engaged Morgan at the Cowpens, near Pacolet river, on the 17th of January. The British, led to the attack by Tarleton himself, advanced with a shout, and poured in an incessant fire of musketry. The American militia, though they received the charge with firmness, were soon compelled to fall back in the rear of their second line; and this line, in its turn, after an obstinate conflict, was compelled to retreat to the cavalry. At this juncture lieutenant-colonel Washington made a successful charge on captain Ogilvie, who, with about forty dragoons, was cutting down the retreating militia; lieutenant-colonel Howard almost at the same moment rallied the continental troops, and charged with fixed bayonets, and the militia instantly followed the example. By these sudden and unexpected charges, the British, who had considered the fate of the day decided, were thrown into confusion, and driven from the ground with great slaughter.Howard and Washington pressed the advantage which they had respectively gained, until the artillery and a great part of the infantry had surrendered.[139] Seldom has a victory, achieved by so small a number, been so important in its consequences. It deprived Cornwallis of one-fifth of his force, and disconcerted his plans for the reduction of North Carolina. He sought, however, to repair, by active exertions, the loss which he had suffered, and determined,if possible, to intercept Morgan, and compel him to restore the trophies of his victory. This resolution led to a military race, which maybe, without exaggeration, termed one of the most celebrated in history. Each army strove to precede the other at the fords of the Catawba, from which both were equally distant. The American troops endured almost incredible hardships, being sometimes without meat, often without flour, and entirely destitute of spirituous liquors. A large portion of the troops were without shoes, and, marching over frozen ground, marked with blood every step of their progress. On the twelfth day after the engagement, Morgan reached the fords and crossed the Catawba; and two hours afterwards Cornwallis arrived, and, it being then dark, encamped on the bank. During the night, a heavy fall of rain made the river impassable, which gave Morgan an opportunity to remove the prisoners beyond the reach of his pursuer.