the Americans numbered but fifteen hundred.* The loss 1775. of the British, in killed and wounded, was more than a thousand; that of the Americans, only about four hundred and fifty; but among the killed was the lamented General Warren.

14. 'In the mean time the American congress had assembled at Philadelphia. Again they addressed the king, and the people of Great Britain and Ireland, and, at the same time, published to the world the reasons of their appeal to arms. We are reduced," said they," to the alternative of choosing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resistance by force. The latter is our choice. We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery." "Having voted to raise an army of 20,000 men, they unanimously elected George Washington commander-in-chief of all the forces raised or to be raised for the defence of the colonies, resolving that they would "assist him and adhere to him, with their lives and fortunes, in the defence of American liberty."

1 Proceedings of Con gres at this

time a. May 10.

b. Dated

July 6. 2. Language

used by them.

1 Difficulties

al governors.

a. May.

ANALYSIS. 17. 'During the summer, royal authority ended in the colonies; most of the royal governors fleeing from the with the roy popular indignation, and taking refuge on board the English shipping. Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, having seized a quantity of the public powder, and conveyed it on board a ship, the people assembled in arms, under Patrick Henry, and demanded a restitution of the powder, or its value. Payment was made, and the people quietly dispersed.

2 Hostilities committed by

more.

18. Other difficulties occurring, Lord Dunmore retired Lord Dun on board a man-of-war,-armed a few ships, and, by offering freedom to such slaves as would join the royal standard, collected a force of several hundred men, with which he attacked the provincials near* Norfolk † but he was defeated with a severe loss. Soon after, a ship of war arriving from England, Lord Dunmore gratified his c. Jan 1, 1776. revenge by reducing Norfolk to ashes."

b. Dec. 8.

3. Resolution of congress to ada.

men's in this

19. The capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point invade Can having opened the gates of Canada, congress resolved to seize the favorable opportunity for invading that province; hoping thereby to anticipate the British, who were evidently preparing to attack the colonies through the same 4 First move quarter. For this purpose, a body of troops from New expedition. York and New England was placed under the command of Generals Schuyler and Montgomery, who passed up Lake Champlain, and, on the 10th of September, ap5. What pre- peared before St. John's'‡ the first British post in Canada. capture of 20. 'Opposed by a large force, and finding the fort too d. Pronoun- strong for assault, they retired to, and fortified Isle Aux ced, O-Noo- Noix, 115 miles north of Ticonderoga. Soon after, General Schuyler returned to Ticonderoga to hasten reenforcements; but a severe illness preventing his again joining the army, the whole command devolved upon General Montgomery.

vented the

St Johns

ah

The com

mand giren to Mngm Єry.

7. Course

him.

21. This enterprising officer, having first induced the pursued by Indians to remain neutral, in a few days returned to St. John's, and opened a battery against it; but want of ammunition seriously retarded the progress of the siege. While in this situation, by a sudden movement he surprised, and, after a siege of a few days, captured Fort Chambly, a few miles north of St. John's, by which he

e Oct 13

*This affair occurred at a small village called Great Bridge, eight miles S. from Norfolk. The commanding officer of the enemy, and thirty of his men, were either killed or wounded. Norfolk, Virginia, is on the N.E. si le of Elizabeth River, eight miles above its entrance into Hampton Roads. The situation is low, and the streets are irregular, but it is a place of extensive foreign commerce.

St. John's is on the W. side of the River Sorel, twenty miles S.E. from Montreal, and twelve miles N. from the Isle Aux Noix.

Chambly is on the W. side of the Sorel, ten miles N. from St. John's.

1. Col. Allen.

obtained several pieces of cannon, and a large quantity 1775. of powder. 'During the siege of St. John's, Colonel Ethan Allen, having with extraordinary rashness forced his way to Montreal, with only eighty men, was defeated, captured, and sent to England in irons.

of St. Johns

and Montre

al, and march

bec.

22. On the third of November St. John's surrendered, 2. Surrender after which Montgomery proceeded rapidly to Montreal, which capitulated on the 13th; Governor Carleton having previously escaped with a small force to Quebec. Hav. towards Queing left a garrison in Montreal, and also in the Forts Chambly and St. John's, Montgomery, with a corps of little more than three hundred men, the sole residue of his army, marched towards Quebec, expecting to meet there another body of troops which had been sent from Cambridge to act in concert with him. This detachment, 3 Arnold's consisting of about a thousand men, under the command of General Arnold, had, with amazing difficulty and hardships, passed up the Kennebec, a river of Maine, and crossing the mountains, had descended the Chaudiere,* to Point Levi, opposite Quebec, where it arrived on the 9th of November.

23. 'On the 13th, the day of the surrender of Montreal, Arnold crossed the St. Lawrence, ascended the heights where the brave Wolfe had ascended before him, and drew up his forces on the Plains of Abraham, but finding the garrison ready to receive him, and not being sufficiently strong to attempt an assault, he retired to Point aux Trembles, twenty miles above Quebec, and there awaited the arrival of Montgomery.

march to Canada.

a. Pronounced, Sho

de-are.

13th & 14th. Cours pursued by him after his

b.

arrival.

See p. 282.

c. Dec. 1.

24. On the arrival of the latter, the united forces, 5. Events that occurred after numbering in all but nine hundred effective men, marched the arrival of to Quebec, then garrisoned by a superior force under com- Montgomery. mand of Governor Carleton. A summons to surrender was answered by firing upon the bearer of the flag. After a siege of three weeks, during which the troops suffered severely from continued toil, and the rigors of a Canadian winter, it was resolved, as the only chance of success, to attempt the place by assault.

of attack. d. Dec. 31.

25. Accordingly, on the last day of the year, between 6. The plan four and five o'clock in the morning, in the midst of a heavy storm of snow, the American troops, in four columns, were put in motion. While two of the columns were sent to make a feigned attack on the Upper Town, Montgomery e. See Note and Arnold, at the head of their respective divisions, attacked opposite quarters of the Lower Town. "Mont-The fall of

and Map, P 280.

Montgomery.

*The Chaudiere rises in Canada, near the sources of the Kennebec, and flowing N.W., enters the St. Lawrence six miles above Quebec. It is not navigable, owing to its numerous rapids.

ANALYSIS. gomery, advancing upon the bank of the river by the way of Cape Diamond, had already passed the first barrier, when the discharge of a single cannon, loaded with grape shot, proved fatal to him,-killing, at the same time, several of his officers who stood near him.

1. Result of the attack.

26. 'The soldiers shrunk back on seeing their general fall, and the officer next in command ordered a retreat. In the mean time Arnold had entered the town, but, being soon severely wounded, was carried to the hospital, almost by compulsion. Captain Morgan, afterwards distinguished 1. See p. 399. by his exploits at the South, then took the command; but, after continuing the contest several hours, against far superior and constantly increasing numbers, and at length vainly attempting a retreat, he was forced to surrender the remnant of his band prisoners of war.

2. Brief account of

27. The fall of Montgomery was deplored by friends Montgomery and foes. Born of a distinguished Irish family, he had early entered the profession of arms;-had distinguished himself in the preceding French and Indian war ;—had shared in the labors and triumph of Wolfe; and, ardently attached to the cause of liberty, had joined the Americans, on the breaking out of the Revolution. Congress directed a monument to be erected to his memory; and in 1818, New York, his adopted state, caused his remains to be removed to her own metropolis, where the monument had been placed; and near that they repose.

3. His mem

ory honored

by congress:

and by New York.

4 Condition of the army

pulse.

28. After the repulse, Arnold retired with the remainder after the re of his army to the distance of three miles above Quebec, where he received occasional reenforcements; but at no time did the army consist of more than 3000 men, of whom more than one-half were generally unfit for duty. 5. Retreat of General Thomas, who had been appointed to succeed

the army.

6. Treatment of the sick.

events of the

Montgomery, arrived early in May; soon after which, Governor Carleton receiving reenforcements from England, the Americans were obliged to make a hasty retreat; leaving all their stores, and many of their sick, in the power of the enemy.

29. The latter were treated with great kindness and humanity, and after being generously fed and clothed, were allowed a safe return to their homes; a course of policy which very much strengthened the British interests in CanFarther ada. At the mouth of the Sorel the Americans were joined by several regiments, but were still unable to withstand the forces of the enemy. Here General Thomas died of the small-pox, a disease which had prevailed extensively in the American camp. After retreating from one post to another, by the 18th of June the Americans had entirely evacuated Canada.

retreat.

1776.

CHAPTER III.

EVENTS OF 1776.

Subject of Chapter III.

the vicinity

of Boston.

1. 'At the close of the year 1775, the regular troops 1. The Amerunder Washington, in the vicinity of Boston, numbered ican forces in but little more than 9000 men ; but by the most strenuous exertions on the part of congress, and the commander-inchief, the number was augmented, by the middle of February, to 14,000. 'Perceiving that this force would soon 2. More decisbe needed to protect other parts of the American territory, congress urged Washington to take more decisive measures, and, if possible, to dislodge the enemy from their position in Boston.

ive measures urged.

was proposed

ton, and

what by his

officers. a. See Map, p. 349. 4. Events

3d, 4th.

2. In a council of his officers, Washington proposed a 3. What plan direct assault; but the decision was unanimous against by Washing it; the officers alledging, that, without incurring so great a risk, but by occupying the heights of Dorchester, which commanded the entire city, the enemy might be forced to evacuate the place. 'Acquiescing in this opin- that followed. ion, Washington directed a severe cannonade upon the city; b. March 2d, and, while the enemy were occupied in another quarter, on the evening of the fourth of March, a party of troops, with intrenching tools, took possession of the heights, unobserved by the enemy; and, before morning, completed a line of fortifications, which commanded the harbor and the city. 3. The view of these works excited the astonishment of the British general, who saw that he must immediately dislodge the Americans, or evacuate the town. An attack was determined upon; but a furious storm rendering the harbor impassable, the attack was necessarily deferred; while, in the mean time, the Americans so strengthened their works, as to make the attempt to force them hopeless. No resource was now left to General Howe but immediate evacuation.

6.

5 Astonishment of the British.

What pretack; and ty, was the left to the

vented an at

what, finalonly resource

British.

made.

4. 'As his troops and shipping were exposed to the fire 7. Agreement of the American batteries, an informal agreement was made, that he should be allowed to retire unmolested, upon condition that he would abstain from burning the city. "Accordingly, on the 17th, the British troops, amounting March 17. to more than 7000 soldiers, accompanied by fifteen hun- 8. Departure dred families of loyalists, quietly evacuated Boston, and sailed for Halifax. 'Scarcely was the rear-guard out of the city, when Washington entered it, to the great joy of the inhabitants, with colors flying, and drums beating, and all the forms of victory and triumph.

of the British.

9. Entrance ton into Bos

of Washing

ton.