DEATH OF GENERAL WOOSTER.

407

ΧΧΧΙ.

but, after a spirited resistance, his little force was over- CHAP.
powered by numbers and driven back. As he was bring-
ing off the rear-guard his horse was shot under him; 1777.
before he could disengage himself from the struggling ani-
mal, a Tory rushed up with a fixed bayonet, and cried
out, "You are my prisoner." "Not yet," replied Arnold,
as he coolly levelled his pistol and shot him dead. He then
escaped, rallied his men, and renewed the attack.

27.

The determined resistance of the militia retarded the British so much, that they were forced to encamp for the night. The next day they were greeted with the same April galling fire from behind trees, fences, and houses, which continued until they came within range of the guns of their ships. They speedily embarked, fain to escape the rifles of the exasperated yeomanry.

General Wooster was conveyed to Danbury, where he died surrounded by his family. His loss was greatly deplored by the patriots. A neat monument in the cemetery of that place now marks his grave.

When Congress learned of the gallant conduct of Arnold, they commissioned him a major-general, and presented him with a horse richly caparisoned. Yet even this tardy acknowledgment of his military merit was marred, the date of his commission still left him below his proper rank. He seemed to feel this second slight more keenly than the first.

The Americans resolved to retaliate in kind, and Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs, of Connecticut, with one hundred and seventy men, passed over the Sound to the east end of Long Island. They carried their boats, during the night, fifteen miles across the neck, launched them May on the bay, passed over to Sag Harbor, and destroyed a great amount of provisions and forage, collected there for the British. In addition, they burned twelve vessels,

24.

XXXI.

CHAP took ninety prisoners, and returned without losing a man, having passed over ninety miles in twenty-five hours.

1777.

Though strenuous efforts were made to obtain recruits, the smallness of the American army still continued; want of funds crippled every measure. At the instance of Washington, Congress declared that those redemptioners or indented servants who enlisted in the army should, by that act, become freemen; and bounties in land were offered the Hessians to induce them to desert.

Meanwhile General Schuyler labored with great zeal in the northern department. But his feelings were severely tried by the aspersions which his enemies cast upon his character, and conduct of affairs. In the autumn of 1776 he wrote: "I am so sincerely tired of abuse, that I will let my enemies arrive at the completion of their wishes as soon as I shall have been tried; and attempt to serve my injured country in some other way, where envy and detraction will have no temptation to follow me." But Congress would not accept his resignation. During the winter he made repeated appeals to the Commander-inchief for reinforcements and supplies, which, for want of means, could not be sent. There were but six or seven hundred men at Ticonderoga; Carleton, he thought, might cross Lake Champlain on the ice and attack them; if successful, he might follow out his original plan and push on to Albany. As the abuse of which Schuyler complained was continued, early in April he proceeded to Philadelphia, and demanded of Congress a committee to inquire into his conduct. Meantime General Gates had been ordered to take command at Ticonderoga.

Schuyler's patriotism was not an impulse, not a matter of mere words, nor did injustice rouse in his breast, as in that of Arnold, the dark spirit of revenge. However, the committee reported in his favor; and, with his character and conduct fully vindicated, he returned to the charge of the Northern Department. The ambitious Gates was

1

NATIONAL FLAG.

409

XXXI.

deeply chagrined and disappointed; he had flattered him- CHAP.
self that Schuyler would never resume his command, and
regarded himself as virtually his successor. Professing to 1777.
be aggrieved, he hastened to Philadelphia to seek redress
at the hands of Congress.

The want of a national flag was greatly felt, especially in the marine service. Congress adopted the "Union Flag," with its thirteen stripes, but displaced the "Cross of St. George," and substituted for it thirteen stars; to which one star has since been added for each additional State.

June.

CHAP.

1777.

CHAPTER XXXII.

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION-CONTINUED.

The Struggle excites an Interest in England and France.-Baron De Kalb.➡ Privateers fitted out in France.-Negotiations for Munitions of War.-Howe's Manœuvres.-Burgoyne on his Way from Canada.-Ticonde roga Captured.-St. Clair's Retreat to Fort Edward.-Efforts to arrest the Progress of Burgoyne.-Capture of General Prescott.-The secret Expedition. The British Fleet puts to sea.-The American Army at Germantown.-La Fayette.-Pulaski and Kosciusko.-Aid sent to Schuyler.-Howe lands at Elkton.-Battle of Brandywine.-Possession taken of Philadelphia.-Battle of Germantown.-Hessians repulsed at Fort Mercer.-Winter Quarters at Valley Forge.

THE unfortunate result of the battle of Long Island; the XXXII. loss of New York and Fort Washington; and the retreat across New Jersey, were all significant of the weakness of the patriot army. Intelligence of these disasters disheartened the friends of the cause in Europe. Edmund Burke, their firm friend, remarked that, although the Americans had accomplished wonders, yet the overpowering forces to be brought against them in the following campaign, must completely crush their hopes of Independence. Said he: "An army that is obliged, at all times, and in all situations, to decline an engagement, may delay their ruin, but can never defend their country."

The intelligent portion of the people of France were not indifferent spectators of this struggle; it was watched with intense interest by her merchants, her manufacturers,

FRIENDS OF THE CAUSE IN EUROPE ENCOURAGED.

411

XXXII.

her statesmen. From the day on which Canada was wrested CHAP. from her, France had ardently hoped that her proud rival might in turn lose her own American colonies. Ten years 1777 before the commencement of hostilities, Choiseul, the enlightened statesman and prime minister of Louis XV., sent an agent through the colonies, to ascertain the feelings of the people. That agent was Baron De Kalb, the sam who afterward so nobly served the cause in the American army. He was indefatigable in "collecting pamphlets, newspapers, and sermons," which he sent to his employer. Choiseul gathered from them the proofs that the British king and ministry, by their blindness and injustice, were fast alienating the good will of their colonists; and he hoped by offering them, without restriction, the commerce of France, to alienate them more and more. Thus the minds of the French people and government were prepared to afford aid, but not under the present aspect of affairs.

Early in the spring, intelligence reached Europe, that the American army, which was supposed to be broken beyond recovery, had suddenly rallied, boldly attacked, and driven the invaders out of New Jersey. It was scarcely thought possible. How could a handful of illdisciplined, ill-armed yeomanry, so destitute of clothes that some of them froze to death while on duty, and others stained the snow with the blood that flowed from their naked feet, meet and defeat a regular army? Surely, men who would thus cheerfully suffer, deserved independence! A thrill of enthusiasm was excited in their favor. They were regarded as a nation of heroes, and Washington, because of his prudence and skill, was extolled as the American Fabius.

With the connivance of the government, American privateers were secretly fitted out, and even permitted to sell their prizes in French ports, in spite of the protests