Blackboard Analysis. BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. New Jersey. Pennsylvania Burgoyne. France { Middle States Northwest ... New York.. On the Sea. { { LOSS OF THE CITY. BATTLE OF TRENTON. BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. BATTLE OF BEMIS' HEIGHTS. BRITISH SURRENDER. THE TREATY. THE FRENCH FLEET. BRITISH AT PHILADELPHIA. AMERICANS AT VALLEY FORGE. CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA. CAPTURE OF VINCENNES. WAYNE AT STONY POINT. PAUL JONES AND THE SERAPIS. EXECUTION OF ANDRÉ. PLAN TO CAPTURE ARNOLD. CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. SURRENDER OF CHARLESTON. LOSS OF THE SOUTH. PARTISAN WARFARE. CAMDEN AND KING'S MOUNTAIN. BATTLE OF COWPENS. GREENE IN NORTH CAROLINA. CORNWALLIS IN VIRGINIA. SURRENDER OF CORNWALLis. LORD NORTH RESIGNS. TREATY OF PARIS. 280. The United States of America. The DECLARATION was passed on the Fourth of July, 1776, duly authenticated by the president and secretary, and was published to the world. It was not signed by the members of Congress until some time afterward. The thirteen British colonies had ceased to exist. They were no longer colonies but THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The adoption of this declaration by the Congress was only an expression of the will of the people throughout the country. The news of its passage was received with joy and rejoicing from Maine to Georgia. 281. New York the Strategic Point. And now the war was really begun in sober earnest. The British had been driven out of Boston, and now determined to strike a decisive blow at New York. If they could obtain possession of that city, they would control the Hudson River. This would effectually separate the New England colonies from those south of New York, and prevent their giving aid to each other. If they succeeded, they could then direct operations, with good promise of success, against Boston on the one side, or Philadelphia on the other. 282. Troops concentrate at New York. General Howe, who had gone to Halifax from Boston, sailed for New York. His brother, Admiral Howe, came with reinforcements from England. General Clinton also arrived, from the south. Washington had anticipated this movement as soon as the British evacuated Boston, and had labored incessantly to prepare New York for defence. The British army had every advantage. It was ably officered. General Howe and General Clinton were aided in the command by Lord Cornwallis, Lord Percy, General von Heister, and other important officers. A large number of the troops under their command were hired soldiers. Since many of these came from that part of Germany called Hesse-Cassel, the general name of Hessians was given to them all. 283. The Two Armies confront Each Other. The British army had landed near the southwest corner of Long Island, in the rear of the present city of Brooklyn. They numbered thirty thousand strong. Washington, with a force of from seven thousand to eight thousand, had taken an advantageous position on the North River, in New York, and had prepared, by sinking vessels in the channel, and by ranging his cannon at Forts Washington and Lee for a cross-fire, to dispute the passage of the British vessels up the river. Meanwhile General Greene, with a force of about eight thousand men, had fortified the hills in Brooklyn, to prevent their capture by the British. 284. The Battle of Long Island. Before the battle began, General Greene was taken sick, and the command fell upon General Sullivan. The battle was fought on the 27th of August, 1776. The American forces marched directly against the British, and for a time succeeded in resisting the attack of the superior force. Through neglect or a failure to appreciate the position, the American line lay especially open to an attack upon its left flank. The main army of the British, by a manoeuvre to their right, surrounded the American left, and placed them all in imminent danger of capture. The Americans succeeded in falling back to their defences. General Sullivan was captured, and the American loss, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was about a thousand. The Americans retreated to Fort Putnam. Had General Howe at once attacked that fort, he would have cut off their retreat, and captured the whole force. He waited, however, for his fleet Nathan Hale. - While Washington was in doubt as to the future movements of General Howe, he intrusted to Captain Nathan Hale the delicate duty of visiting Long Island to obtain the desired information. Hale was arrested, summarily tried, and executed as a spy by the British on the 22d day of September, 1776. He was a grad uate of Yale College, and a man of fine promise. He was not permitted to write even to his mother; and the contrast between the brutal treatment which he received and the courtesies afterwards extended to André, under similar conditions, only endeared his memory to the American people. He died "regretting that he had but one life to give to his country." to intercept them, and this gave General Washington an opportunity to withdraw the force from Brooklyn. The army retreated to New York on the night of the 29th. 285. Operations about New York. On the 14th of September, the British fleet occupied the East River, and the American army evacuated New York City. Washington retired to Harlem Heights, which he promptly fortified. On the 16th, General Howe was repulsed in an attack upon the American forces, but he succeeded later in passing Washington's left. Washington at once extended his line to White Plains, where he took up a strong position. An unsuccessful attempt was made upon the American lines, October 28th. The loss of each in this battle was about one hundred and fifty. Howe waited for reinforcements, and Washington withdrew to North Castle Heights, which he strongly fortified. The British general did not attack the Americans, but retired to New York City. 286. Washington crosses the Hudson. - Washington feared that the British would enter New Jersey, and push forward to Philadelphia. Therefore he crossed the Hudson, and fixed his headquarters at Fort Lee. Howe decided to reduce Fort Washington before entering New Jersey, as it was a permanent menace both to the river and the city. He made the attack on the 16th of November, and after a fierce struggle, in which the British lost nearly five hundred men, the Americans were obliged to surrender. The number of prisoners, including officers, was about twenty-five hundred men. The First American Treason. Carrington gives a foot-note, in his latest edition of "Battles of the American Revolution," showing that William Almont, adjutant of McGaw's regiment, deserted to Howe, and placed in his hands detailed plans of Fort Washington, especially of the steep and weakly guarded ascent near the river, where the determining assault was made, in the rear of the active lines of defence. 287. Dark Days. This was a terrible loss to the patriots. The British vessels could now pass safely up and down the North River. Washington withdrew his forces to Newark. These were dark days for the American cause. The army was discouraged, and desertions. were frequent. Philadelphia was in danger, and the Congress adjourned to Baltimore. Washington himself considered the cause to be in a most critical condition. CHAPTER XLII. DEFENCE OF NEW JERSEY. 288. Washington a Skilful General. Washington had already shown real military genius. His retreat from Long Island, his manoeuvrings on Manhattan Island, his withdrawal across the Hudson, were movements performed under the most unfavorable circumstances, with a small army of raw recruits, undrilled, undisciplined, mostly enlisted for short terms of service, and opposed by a vastly superior force of British regulars and Hessian mercenaries, commanded by experienced officers of the foremost nation in the world; yet he saved his army, and soon turned the tide of defeat into glorious victory. |