and in a short time, the king's forces, amounting to nearly ten thousand men, were hemmed in by a superior force of provincials. General Ward was appointed commander-inchief, and Heath, Prescott, Thomas, and Putnam, generals. Putnam was at his plough when the account of the battle was brought him; and without finishing the furrow, or reentering his house, put himself at the head of a party of his neighbors, and started for the army. Arnold, subsequently so infamous in his treachery, was among the first to reach Boston, having raised a company in New Haven, and forced a march to the spot of action within ten days after the fight at Lexington.

The example of Gage, in endeavoring to seize the colonial stores, was improved by the Americans, in numerous places. The New Jersey people seized upon the royal treasury; and the people of Baltimore and Charleston possessed themselves of the stands of arms belonging to the troops. At Williamsburg, in Virginia, Governor Dunmore had seized upon a quantity of powder in the magazine; and when the return was demanded, gave evasive answers. Patrick Henry, not trusting to his faith, summoned the people to arms; and, at the head of five thousand volunteers, extorted payment from his excellency, and was in return, proclaimed as an outlaw-an idle ceremony which only made the governor's weakness more conspicuous.

A party of Connecticut and New Hampshire militia promptly formed the plan of seizing the important fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. They were commanded by Colonels Ethan Allen, and Benedict Arnold. By forced marches they surprised Ticonderoga; and the two officers entering abreast, at day-break, demanded of the astonished commander the surrender of the fort. By whose authority?" demanded he. "In the name of the great Jehovah, and of the Continental Congress," was the prompt answer of Allen, and the fort was surrendered unconditionally. Crown Point was also secured without the loss of a man.

Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, arrived in Boston, from England, with reinforcements, in the latter part of May; and General Gage, emboldened by their aid, proclaimed martial law throughout the province, and issued a proclamation, offering free pardon to all who should lay down their arms, and return to the duties of peacable subjects, except SAMUEL ADAMS and JOHN

May.

HANCOCK, "whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment." This proclamation only strengthened the union of the colonists, and elevated these proscribed patriots to a higher position in the confidence of their countrymen. The proudest peer in Europe might exult in a patent for ancestral honors, so honorable in the eyes of posterity as this testimony from the enemy, of the unflinching public virtue of

Hancock and Adams.

Adams, in particular, was the object of special dread to the adherents of Great Britain. "This man,” said Mr. Galloway, one of the Tories, who joined the enemy and went to Britain, and afterwards published a work there :-"this man eats little, drinks little, sleeps little, thinks much, and is most indefatigable in the pursuit of his object. It was he who, by superior application, managed at once the factions in Congress at Philadelphia, and the factions in New England."

When Governor Hutchinson, in the beginning of these disturbances, was asked why he did not quiet Adams by the use of his patronage, he answered-"Such is the obstinacy and inflexible disposition of this man, that he never can be conciliated by any offices or gift whatever." Under Governor Gage, the attempt was renewed through a certain Colonel Fenton, just after the military occupation of Boston, to detach him from the American cause, by large offers, and with apparently friendly solicitation and advice to reconcile himself to the king. His answer is a noble specimen of revolutionary patriotism and intrepidity. "I trust I have long since made my peace with the King of kings. No personal consideration shall induce me to abandon the righteous cause of my country. Tell Governor Gage, it is the advice of Samuel Adams to him, no longer to insult the feelings of an exasperated people."

In the mean time the general Congress had met at Philadelphia, on the 10th of May. The members were, with few exceptions, the same as in the first Congress; but under the exigencies of the times, they had been, by the instructions of their constituents, invested with larger powers, and they soon assumed, without any express direction, but with full consent of the people, most of the attributes of delegated sovereignty. On the exception of John Hancock, by Governor Gage, out of his proclamation

of amnesty, the Congress manifested their disregard of the menace, and their confidence in the man, by electing him president, in the place of Mr. Randolph, who was called home on business.

The Congress opened its labors by proposing and sending addresses and appeals to the king and people of Great Britain, and then proceeded to prepare for every alternative, by organizing the defence of the colonies. They voted to raise an army of twenty thousand men-appointed the general officers, and emitted bills of credit to the amount of three millions of dollars, pledging the TWELVE UNITED COLONIES, Georgia, not having yet joined the confederation, for the redemption of the debt. On the 5th of June, on motion of Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, GEORGE WASHINGTON was unanimously appointed commander-in-chief, and accepted the appointment in the following address, marked with that unaffected modesty, which clothed with such a gentle grace, his great qualities and unrivalled virtues.

Though I am truly sensible of the high honor done me in this appointment, yet I feel great distress, from a consciousness, that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service, and for the support of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their approbation. But, lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with. I beg leave, Sir, to assure the Congress, that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I desire."

At the same time, Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam, were appointed majors-general; and Horatio Gates, adjutant-general.

Two days afterwards, in another quarter, was fought the memorable battle of Bunker Hill; a battle, the memory of which is dear to the hearts of Americans, as one of the first

and most glorious among those early conflicts in which the strength of a young and untried people, struggling for liberty, was measured with the veteran and disciplined forces of a gigantic and insolent oppressor.

The arrival of the British generals, Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, led the Americans, at Boston, to believe that strong offensive demonstrations would soon be made against them. In order to command the access to the city, they determined to make entrenchments, and station a force upon Bunker Hill, a large eminence, just at the entrance of the peninsula of Charlestown, and so situated as to command the entrance to both rivers. On the night of the 16th of June, a detachment of a thousand men, under Major Prescott, and accompanied by General Putnam, was dispatched to occupy the hill, and throw up the necessary works. By some error, Breed's Hill, another eminence nearer the town, and overlooking it within cannon shot, was marked out, and the provincials labored with such silence and diligence, that by dawn of day, to the astonishment of the British fleet, which lay in sight, they had thrown up a redoubt nearly eight rods square. They continued to labor at it, notwithstanding an incessant fire from the ships of war, and a battery of six guns, on Copp's Hill, until they had erected a breast-work from the redoubt to the bottom of the Hill, towards the Mystic. Without stopping to return a single gun, and without being relieved by the American army, they persevered, under a murderous discharge from the sea and from the hill, until their defences were completed. In the course of the day, they were reinforced by a detachment of five hundred men, under Stark, Warren, and Pomeroy, and orders were given to extend the works, so as to protect the flank, on the side of the Mystic river; which was done by running two parallel lines of rail fences, filling the intervals with hay.

Orders were given, by the British general, to drive them from this position, and Generals Howe and Pigot, with a force of infantry and grenadiers, amounting to three June 17. thousand men, with a powerful park of artillery, advanced in two lines the former to attack the flank, and the latter the redoubt in front. The attack was begun by a heavy cannonading, and the troops marched slowly to observe its effects. At the same time, the barbarous order was given to set fire to Charlestown, containing four hundred houses, which was quickly in flames; and thus a small force

of young and untrained soldiers were waiting, under the fire of a tremendous battery of guns, illuminated by the glare of a burning village, the approach of a veteran force of double their number. Their coolness was admirable. The order of Putnam, not to fire till they could distinguish the whites of the eyes of the advancing force, was scrupulously obeyed; and the enemy were permitted to approach within about sixty yards, when a deadly fire of small arms was opened upon them with such effect, that whole ranks were mowed down; and the line, wavering for a moment, proke and gave way, falling precipitately back to the landing place. They rallied, and again advanced, and were again beaten back by the same destructive and incessant stream of fire. General Clinton, who had come to the aid of his brother generals, rallied them again, and led them a third time to the charge, which at length proved successful. Powder began to fail in the redoubt, and the cannon from the fleet had taken a position which raked it through and through. Under the fire from ships, batteries, and field artillery, and attacked by a superior force on three sides at once, at the point of the bayonet, and without bayonets or powder themselves, the provincials slowly evacuated the fort, not without obstinate resistance, some of them persisting to fight with the butts of their guns.

The attempt to take the position in flank, was met in the same way, and with the same undaunted spirit. The Americans maintained their position, under every disadvantage, covering the retreat of the main body, and then made their own retreat over Charlestown Neck, with inconsiderable loss, though exposed to the fire of the Glasgow man-of-war, and several floating batteries. The Americans entrenched themselves on Prospect Hill, a few miles farther on the way to Cambridge, and still maintained their command of the entrance to Boston.

The British loss was one thousand and fifty-four-the Americans, four hundred and fifty-three. Among these, was the lamented Joseph Warren, who had been one of the earliest, ablest, most zealous, and energetic friends of liberty, and whose virtues and talents had given him the highest rank as a patriot in the estimation of his countrymen. Every honor which affectionate gratitude and regret could devise was paid to his memory.

The general result of the battle, in a military point of