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Benjamin
Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut,
and Robert R. Livingston of New York -- was chosen to
draw up a declaration embodying that resolution. Thomas
Jefferson did the work. On the Fourth of July, 1776, John
Hancock (§ 160), President of Congress, signed the
Declaration of American Independence in that bold,
decided hand which "the King of England could read
without spectacles.". When the patriots of Philadelphia
met, they rang the "Liberty Bell" in the Old State House
(now called " Independence Hall") till it nearly cracked
with the joyous peal. In New York City the people pulled
down a gilded lead statue of the King and melted it up
into bullets.|
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II. THE WAR
OF INDEPENDENCE, FROM
JULY 4, 1776,
TO THE VICTORY OF
SARATOGA, 1777
169. The British aim at New York; Our
Navy. Driven out of Boston (§ 165) and defeated at
Charleston (§ 165), the British determined to strike New
York. Their plan was to get possession of the city and of the
Hudson River. They could then prevent the New England colonists
and those south of New York from helping each other, for our force
on land was small, and we had no proper war ships to attack the
enemy by sea.
Later, we built a little navy. It was commanded
by such heroes as John Barry (§ 214), who captured the first
English armed vessel taken by us (1776), and Paul Jones, who did a
great work a little later (§ 183).
Our privateers also captured many English
merchant ships laden with powder and war supplies.
170. Washington's Preparations to receive the
British; Fort Washington and Fort Lee. Washington foresaw this
design of the enemy and prepared for it. When General Howe (§
165), with his brother, Lord Howe, commander of the English fleet,
reached New York in the summer (1776) they found Washington in
possession of the city. They found, too, that they could not send
their ships up the Hudson as easily as they had hoped, for the
Americans had built Fort Washington and Fort Lee expressly to
prevent it. (Map, p. 140.)
171. The Two Armies; the Battle of Long
Island. Still the British were confident that they could win
the day. Howe and his brother were experienced military
commanders. They had the aid of General Clinton and General
Cornwallis, and over 30,000 well-armed soldiers -- men who fought
for a living. Washington had less than 18,000, most of whom knew
nothing of war, while many had no muskets fit to fight with. But
Washington held the city and the forts on the Hudson and he had
possession of Brooklyn Heights on Long Island, directly opposite
the city on the south.
General Howe, with his army, was on Staten
Island. He saw that if he could take Brooklyn Heights and plant
his cannon
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there, he could drive Washington out of New York, just as
Washington, by seizing Dorchester Heights, had driven him out of
Boston (§ 165).
General Putnam was in command of the Heights
with a force of 9000 Americans. In the battle of Long Island
(August 27, 1776) the gallant little American army met with
defeat.
Putnam with his whole force would certainly have
been captured if it had not been for Washington's energy and
skill. During the night a dense fog came up, and under cover of it
Washington got all of Putnam's men safe across the river in boats
to New York. In the morning, when the British commander stretched
out his hand to take the "nest of rebels," as he called it, he got
the nest indeed, but it was empty -- the birds had flown.
172. Washington retreats Northward; Nathan
Hale; Fort Washington taken; Lee's Disobedience. Washington
was now forced to abandon New York and retreat up the east side of
the river. He was naturally very anxious to find out what the
British meant to do next. Captain Nathan Hale of Connecticut
volunteered to try to get this information for him, but the brave
young man was arrested and hanged as a spy. As he stood on the
gallows he said to the British officer in charge, "I only regret
that I have but one life to lose for my country."
Washington ordered West Point (Map, p. 140), the
strongest place on the west bank of the Hudson, to be fortified,
to prevent the enemy from going up to Albany. He then crossed to
the west bank of the river, but could not hold his ground against
Lord Cornwallis, and he lost both Fort Washington and Fort Lee
(§ 170). He had left some of his best soldiers, under the
command of General Charles Lee, on the east side of the Hudson. He
now ordered Lee to join him, but that traitorous officer disobeyed
him.1
1 General Charles Lee
was born in England. He had been an officer in the British army,
but had left that service, come to this country, and had obtained
the rank of major general in the American army. He was in no way
connected with the Lees of Virginia. While he was in command on
the Hudson he was trying to prejudice Congress against Washington,
in hope of getting his place. Later, he showed himself to be
utterly unprincipled and treacherous (§
182).
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173. Washington retreats across the
Delaware; General Lee captured. Washington with his small
force now began to retreat across New Jersey toward Philadelphia.
He broke down bridges after he had crossed them, destroyed the
provisions Cornwallis hoped to get for his army, and so delayed
the enemy that it took them nearly three weeks (November 19 to
December 8) to march less than seventy miles across a level
country.
Cornwallis and his "redcoats" followed the
retreating Americans sometimes at a distance, then again close on
their heels. There were times when the British would be entering a
town just as our men were hurrying out of it.
Many patriots began to despair of success. How,
they asked, can our fugitive army of only 3000 men, wretchedly
armed, scantily clothed, and half fed hope to escape their
pursuers? Under any other general they could not have escaped; but
they had Washington for their leader, and Washington was the
heart, strength, and soul of the Revolution.
Finding that he could not hold New Jersey, he
was forced at last (December 8, 1776) to cross the Delaware at
Trenton. The British would have pushed on after him; but the
American general had seized every boat for nearly a hundred miles
up and down the river. All that the British could do was to sit
down on the bank and wait for the stream to freeze over.
Not long after Washington had reached
Pennsylvania the false-hearted Lee (§ 172) crossed the Hudson
and marched with 4000 men toward Morristown, New Jersey. While he
was asleep in a tavern several miles from his men, a squad of
British soldiers surprised and captured him. His army, thus
fortunately rid of him, advanced and found an opportunity to join
Washington.
174. The Victory of Trenton. On Christmas
night (1776) Washington, with a force of less than 2500 men,
recrossed the Delaware -- then full of floating ice -- and marched
on Trenton in a furious snowstorm. There he surprised a body of
Hessian (§ 166) soldiers and took 1000 prisoners and a large
quantity of arms and ammunition.
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All this he did with scarce the loss
of a man. It was not only a bold stroke, but a great
victory, because it had great results. Thousands of
patriots had begun to despair; now their hearts leaped
with joy. It was a Christmas long to be remembered. |
would
be up in a few days, and he needed money to get them to
reënlist. Congress had indeed tried hard to
manufacture money. It had printed bills, called
"continental currency," by the wagon load. But the poor
soldiers, barefooted, half-starved, ragged, and
miserable, did not want what Congress offered them. They
had left wives and children at home who were crying for
bread, and the men wanted to send them something that
would buy it. They knew by sad experience that a dollar
bill issued by a government that had no silver or gold to
make it good was worth just as much as any other dingy
scrap of paper of the same size -- and worth no more.|
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went to sleep, certain that Washington could not get away. For
how could he hope to escape, with the British army in front and
the broad, deep Delaware River full of floating ice behind him?
Cornwallis told his brother officers that they would "bag the old
fox" in the morning. While the English general lay dreaming,
Washington like an "old fox" crept stealthily round him, and got
to Princeton.
In the battle there (January 3, 1777), the
American advance force was driven back. just then Washington came
up and saved the army from defeat. Then the American general with
his little army made themselves snug and safe in the hills about
Morristown, in northern New Jersey. There they remained until the
last of May (1777). (Map, p. 140.)
Cornwallis knew that he could not drive
Washington out of his strong position without a desperate battle,
so he hurried back to New Brunswick, New Jersey, for fear that the
Americans would cut off his food supplies from New York City.
The next summer Lafayette, a French nobleman of
nineteen, came from Paris to offer his services to Washington in
behalf of American liberty. He became one of Washington's
generals, and not only gave his services to the country, but
equipped many of the men under his command with arms and clothing
furnished at his own expense. Lafayette brought with him Baron de
Kalb, a German military veteran, who also became a general in the
United States army. Later, Baron Steuben, a Prussian military
engineer, joined the Americans and made himself of the greatest
use in drilling and disciplining our troops. Kosciusko and
Pulaski, two eminent Polish patriots, joined our army at the same
time.
177. Burgoyne's Expedition; Battle of
Oriskany; Battle of Bennington. Meanwhile, the British made a
new move. General Burgoyne (§ 163) marched down from Canada
(1777) with 8000 men by way of Lake Champlain, and took Fort
Ticonderoga (§ 162). He then pushed forward toward the
Hudson, expecting to join a part of Howe's army there.
Another British expedition started from Oswego
with a force of Iroquois Indians (§ 32) and Tories (§
160) to unite with Burgoyne.
