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night had ended the battle, Clinton stole away, under cover of darkness, and embarked at Sandy Hook for SketchNew York. Washington crossed the Hudson, and took post at White Plains, where be remained till late in the autumn, when he cantoned his troops around New York, with his headquarters at Middlebrook, in New Jersey.
   33.
Lee was ordered forward, with a strong force, to engage the enemy at Monmouth. When Washington came up, he encountered the whole division in full retreat. Greatly exasperated, the commander-in-chief sharply reprimanded Lee, and ordered the retreat to be checked, and the troops to be brought into action, which soon became general.1 The loss of the Americans, in killed and wounded and those disabled by the extreme heat, was two hundred; that of Clinton, three hundred, and on his march more than fifteen hundred, chiefly Hessians, deserted from his standard. Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer who had recently been appointed inspector-general of the patriot forces, took an active part in this battle. Steuben was an excellent disciplinarian, and introduced into the American armies a uniform system of tactics.
   34.
About this time Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and other settlements north of the Ohio, fell into the hands of a party of Virginians. Early in July a deed of shocking barbarity was perpetrated in the secluded and lovely Valley of Wyoming, in Pennsylvania. The infamous Colonel John Butler, at the head of more than a thousand Tories and Indians, made a descent into the valley, and desolated the settlements with fire and sword, sparing neither age nor sex. In November, Cherry Valley, in New York, suffered a similar visitation.
   35. The French fleet and army,2 sent to assist the United States, appeared off the Delaware, July 6, under Count D'Estaing, just in time to miss Admiral Howe, who, with an inferior fleet, had taken refuge in New York harbor, where the heavier vessels of the French could not follow him.
   36.
D'Estaing then sailed for Newport, to coöperate with General Sullivan, in an attempt to drive the British from the Island of Rhode Island.3 While D'Estaing was waiting for the arrival of the American army, Admira. Howe, having been reënforced, left New York for the relief of Newport. The very day that the army under Sullivan, aided by Lafayette


   1 For his conduct on this occasion, and for addressing two disrespectful letters to Washington, Lee was brought to trial, and sentenced to be suspended from command for one year. After the expiration of his sentence, he was dismissed from the service for writing an insolent letter to Congress. He died just before the close of the war.
   2 The fleet consisted of twelve ships of the line and four frigates; the army numbered four thousand troops. See p. 130, ¶ 31.      3 See p. 122,¶ 6.


   QUESTIONS. -- What of Clinton after the battle? of Washington? 33. Give some further particulars of this battle. What is said of Baron Steuben? 34. What is said of the settlements north of the Ohio? Of the attack upon the Valley of Wyoming? Upon Cherry Valley? 35. When and where did the French fleet and army arrive? Under what commander? Where had the English fleet taken refuge? 36. Give an account of the attempt to drive the British from the Island of Rhode Island.


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and Greene, was ready to lay siege to Newport, D'Estaing descried the British fleet, and went out to give battle. A storm, however, prevented the engagement, and so damaged the French fleet that D'Estaing sailed to Boston for repairs. Sullivan was forced to retire. The English pursued, and, August 29, attacked the Americans, but were repulsed, with great slaughter. Sullivan continued his retreat, and reached the main land. After D'Estaing had completed his repairs in Boston, he sailed to the West Indies, to operate against the English possessions there, and a British squadron followed to defend them.
   37.
Hostilities were now conducted by the British in a more revengeful spirit. Sir Charles Grey was sent on a ravaging expedition against New Bedford, Fairhaven, and Martha's Vineyard. Another expedition, sent along the coast of New Jersey, burned Egg Harbor. A body of dragoons, under Colonel Baylor, was surprised, and cut to pieces without mercy; the same fate befell the infantry of Pulaski's legion.
   38.
The autumn of this year finds the position of the opposing armies but little changed from that of two years before. Washington, at White Plains, is watching Clinton in New York. But the British, in New York, are now on the defensive. New Jersey and Philadelphia have been lost and won. Newport is in the possession of the enemy, but they have lost the settlements north of the Ohio. America, moreover, has become inured to war, and gained the support of France, whose example, in recognizing the new nation, was soon followed by other European states.

    III. F
ROM THE INVASION OF GEORGIA TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. -- THE WAR CHIEFLY IN THE SOUTH. -- 1. Events of 1778, continued. -- Towards the close of 1778, the south began to be the principal theatre of the war, and Georgia, the weakest of the Southern States, was the first to be attacked. Late in December, Colonel Campbell, with thirty-five hundred troops, sent from New York by General Clinton, landed near Savannah. They found not more than twelve hundred men, under General Robert Howe, to oppose them. These were surprised, and completely routed, and the town fell into the hands of the English, December 29.
   2. Events of 1779. -- The year 1779 is distinguished for nothing very decisive in the war of the Revolution. A few days after the fall of Savannah, General Prevost arrived with royal troops from Florida, and took command of the British forces. He soon completed the subjugation of Georgia, in spite


   QUESTIONS. -- After completing his repairs in Boston, where did D'Estaing sail, and for what purpose? 37. How did the British now conduct hostilities? What towns suffered from ravaging expeditions? What of Baylor's dragoons and Pulaski's legion? 38. Compare the state of affairs in the autumn of 1778 with that of two years before. 1. When did the south begin to be the principal theatre of the war? What state was first attacked? Give an account of the fall of Savannah. 2. What is said of the year 1779? Of the subjugation of Georgia?
   12


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PERIOD IV. 1763-1789. THE REVOLUTION.

Sketchof the efforts of General Lincoln, commander of the southern department. The principal stand made by the Americans was at Drier Creek, where, March 3, they were surprised and defeated with great loss.
   
Sunbury was the first place that yielded to Prevost, who then sent Colonel Campbell, with a body of men, to excite a rising of the loyalists in the interior, and to take Augusta. Seven hundred Tories, while marching towards this place, were attacked by militia, under Colonel Pickens of South Carolina; their leader was slain, and a large number were taken prisoners, five of whom were hanged for treason. Lincoln, in order to arrest the progress of Campbell, despatched about two thousand men, under General Ashe, who was surprised at Brier Creek, by Prevost. Of the Americans who escaped, less than five hundred ever reassembled.
   3.
Prevost next marched upon Charleston, South Carolina. Lincoln, as soon as he could recover from the disaster at Brier Creek, hastened to Its relief, and Prevost retreated. The Americans pursued, and overtaking the enemy at Stone Ferry, June 20, engaged them, and were repulsed with considerable loss. The British, however, suffered severely, and continued their retreat, the main body returning to Georgia.
   4. In September, D'Estaing suddenly appeared, with a large fleet, before Savannah, and prepared to coöperate with Lincoln for the recovery of the town. After a siege of more than two weeks, a disastrous assault was made by the combined forces, October 9, after which D'Estaing, himself wounded, in haste to return to the West Indies, where he had been cruising against the British, proposed to raise the siege. Lincoln was compelled to acquiesce, and retired to Charleston.
   
The allies lost more than one thousand men, while the loss of the British was not a hundred. The gallant Count Pulaski was mortally wounded.
   5. In the mean time, in the north, Clinton had attempted nothing but to hold New York, and to send out a few plundering expeditions, while Washington could do but little more than to watch him.
   6.
In February, Tryon, with a large force, proceeded from Kings bridge, into Connecticut, as far as Greenwich, where he plundered the inhabitants and destroyed their salt works. General Putnam, happening to be in the vicinity, hastily collected a small number of men, whom he employed at firing upon the enemy, with a couple of field-pieces, from the high ground near the meeting-house, till a detachment charged upon him. Ordering his men to make good their retreat, he himself put spurs to his


   QUESTIONS. -- What is said of the defeat at Brier Creek? -- Give a more particular account of the English in Georgia. 3. Where did Prevost next march? How was Charleston relieved? Give an account of the affair at Stone Ferry. What did the British next do? 4. Give an account of the attempt to recover Savannah. 5. What of Clinton and Washington in the mean time? 6. Give an account of Tryon's expedition in Connecticut, and Putnam's escape.


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horse, plunged down the precipice near the church, and escaped, uninjured by the many balls which were fired at him. In July, another predatory

Sketch

excursion was led by Tryon, against the maritime parts of Connecticut, during which New Haven was plundered, and Fairfield and Norwalk were reduced to ashes. An expedition against Virginia, in May, plundered Portsmouth, Norfolk, and all the neighboring country.
   7. On the night of July 16, General Anthony Wayne surprised and captured the British stronghold at Stony Point.
   
This post and Verplanck's Point, nearly opposite, had been recently taken from the Americans, and greatly strengthened by the British. Washington, however, determined to attempt its reduction. The enterprise was committed to General Wayne, who accomplished a march of fourteen miles over mountains, through deep morasses and difficult defiles, and at midnight reached the walls of the fort, in two columns, ready for the attack. The garrison opened a tremendous fire of musketry, but the Americans, pressing on, cleared their way with the bayonet, scaled the fort, and the two columns met in the centre of the works. The English lost six hundred men, most of whom were taken prisoners. The Americans lost one hundred. By Washington's orders the cannon and stores were removed, and the works destroyed. The British afterwards occupied the post. About a month after the storming of Stony Point, Major Henry Lee surprised and captured a British garrison at Paulus Hook (now Jersey City).


   QUESTIONS. -- What other places in Connecticut were plundered or burned by Tryon? What of a plundering expedition in Virginia? 7. When and by whom was Stony Point captured? Give the particulars of its capture. What of the British garrison at Paulus Hook?
 


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   8. About the middle of August these successes were followed by a disaster. A fleet of nineteen armed Sketchvessels and twenty-four transports sailed from Boston, to capture a British post at Castine, on the Penobscot, in Maine. While the Americans were investing the fort, a British fleet arrived, and either captured or destroyed the whole flotilla. Most of the men escaped, and made their way back through the woods.
   9. In the summer of this year General Sullivan, with five thousand men, was sent to chastise the Indians (all the Six Nations but the Oneidas), who had joined with the Tories and English.1 Sullivan penetrated as far as the Genesee, burned their villages, cut down their orchards, destroyed their fields of corn, and left their country a waste.
   10. On the sea,2 this year, American and French cruisers were inflicting great injury on English commerce. One of the most desperate naval combats on record was fought by the dauntless commander John Paul Jones, in which he captured, September 23, in sight of the British coast, two English frigates convoying a fleet of merchantmen..
   
Jones had three ships. Himself in the Bon Homme Richard, of forty-two guns, engaged the Serapis, of forty-four guns. The ships coming in contact, Jones lashed them together, and the battle raged with frightful slaughter for more than two hours. During the combat, which was in the night, both ships were on fire several times. At length the Serapis surrendered; the Richard sunk in the morning. Another of Jones's ships captured the consort of the Serapis.
   11. This year the war was carried on under circumstances of great discouragement. The United States bad hoped much from the French alliance, yet D'Estaing had accomplished but little. The Americans found still greater discouragement in the condition of their finances, and the daily depreciation of their bills of credit,3 called continental money.
   
During the summer of 1779, Spain joined France in hostility to England. America derived some encouragement from this new party to the war. It was throwing one more obstacle in the way of her enemy.
   12. In order to strengthen New York, which Clinton feared.


   1 See p. ¶ 34.      2 See p. 130, ¶ 29..
   3 The first issue of these bills by Congress was in June, 1775. and then to the amount of two millions. By the year 1780, the amount in circulation was two hundred millions, and the depreciation fifty or sixty for one. The principal reason for this was the general want of confidence that the bills would ever be redeemed. In after years the depreciation was several hundreds for one. With such a currency it was impossible to carry on a war with energy.


   QUESTIONS. -- 8. Give an account of the disaster which followed these successes. 9. Give an account of Sullivan's expedition against the Indians. 10. What of American and French cruisers? What naval victory by John Paul Jones? -- Give a mom particular account of this naval combat. 11. What is said of the French alliance? Of American Finances? -- What nation joined France in hostility to England? Effect? 12. What did Clinton first do?


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might be attacked by D'Estaing, Newport1 and the posts on the Hudson were evacuated. After the repulse of the French and American forces at Savannah, and the departure of D'Estaing2 from the coast of America, the British commander-in-chief, leaving the Hessian general, Baron Knyphausen, at New York, sailed south, December 25, with seven thousand troops, and the fleet of Admiral Arbuthnot.
   13. Events of 1780. -- The war was now carried into the Carolinas. On May 12, Charleston was forced Sketchto surrender to the combined attack of the British army and navy.

   General Lincoln had charge of the defences of the city, in the rear of which Clinton began to erect batteries, early in April, and Arbuthnot, having succeeded in passing Fort Moultrie,3 anchored his fleet within gunshot of the Americans. On the 14th, two regiments of provincials, stationed at Monk's Corner, to keep open communication with the country, were surprised and totally routed by British cavalry, under Colonel Tarleton. Charleston was now at the mercy of the besiegers, but not till after a fierce bombardment did Lincoln surrender. Six thousand prisoners fell into the hands of the enemy. About two hundred and fifty were killed and wounded on each side.
   14. Measures were immediately adopted for establishing the royal authority throughout South Carolina, and British garrisons were stationed in various parts of the state. Clinton then sailed for New York, with a large body of his troops, leaving Cornwallis in command of the forces in the south.
   On the fall of Charleston, Clinton sent expeditions into the interior, one of which, led by Colonel Tarleton, pursued a body of American troops under Colonel Buford, and overtook them near Waxhaw Creek, not far from the northern boundary of the state. More than three hundred of the Americans were killed, wounded, and captured. A few escaped.
   
South Carolina was restive under the yoke, and bands of patriots, under Marion, Sumter, Pickens, and other daring leaders, were ever ready to pounce upon exposed parties of British and Tories.


   1 See p. 122, ¶ 6.      2 See p. 134, ¶      3. See p. 118, ¶ 18.

   QUESTIONS. -- What did Clinton do after the repulse of the French and Americans at Savannah? 13. Where was the war carried in 1780? When was Charleston forced to surrender? -- Give an account of the affair at Monk's Corner, and a more particular account of the attack upon Charleston. 14. What measures were immediately adopted? Where did Clinton go? Who was ]oft in command of the British forces In the south? -- What is said of expeditions sent into the Interior, and of the affair near Waxhaw Creek? -- What of bands of patriots and their leaders in South Carolina?
   12*


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