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THE STARS AND STRIPES ADOPTED.

159 a thrifty housewife, as well as the fences and barns of the husbandmen, suffered severely from their depredations. Till summer, Howe contented himself with sending an expedition up the Hudson, and another to Danbury, Conn., which burned the town and stores collected there.

The National Flag.-June 14, 1777, was signalized by the adoption of the stars and stripes as the national banner. For the union of the British flag before used, was substi

tuted a blue field with thirteen stars, representing the original thirteen states, arranged in a circle, the emblem of perpetuity. A new star was afterward added for each new state admitted, and the arrangement of the stars was changed. Paul Jones, a naval hero of whose achievements we shall presently hear, was the first to give the new flag to the breeze on his eighteengun vessel, the Ranger.

Aid from France.-In 1777, in response to an appeal from Congress, the French government, ever hostile to England, secretly sent over ordnance, muskets, and powder, to aid the patriots. A most valuable accession to the cause was also received in the young Marquis de Lafayette (deh lah-fa-et'). He had heard of the stand taken by the colonies with enthusiastic admiration; and leaving home, friends, brilliant prospects, and a young wife, he came to offer his sword to the struggling friends of freedom. Though he was not yet twenty, Congress commissioned him as a major-general, and he became the life-long friend of Washington. Kosciusko (kosse-us'ko) and Pulaski (pu-las'ke), illustrious Poles whom the misfortunes of their country had driven into exile, and the Baron De Kalb, an experienced German officer, joined the service about the same time.

Burgoyne's Campaign.-An invasion of the states from the north formed a prominent part of the British plans for 1777. Gen. Burgoyne, who was intrusted with the command of the expedition, was to ascend Lake Champlain, fall on Ticonderoga, take Albany, and with aid from New York by way of the Hudson reduce the American posts in the Highlands. New England would thus be isolated from the Middle States, and unable to aid Washington, who was meanwhile to be hard pressed by Howe. Burgoyne started with about 10,000 men. Having been joined near Crown Point by 400 warriors of the Six Nations, he issued a highflown proclamation bristling with threats against any who should venture to offer resistance.

On the 1st of July the British reached Ticonderoga. The American garrison at this place consisted of less than 3,500 men, scantily provided with stores and ammunition. When their general, St. Clair, saw the enemy in possession of a neighboring height which commanded his works and which he had neglected to occupy, he realized that he must either lose his army or evacuate the place. In the night

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following July 5th, sending his stores up the lake to Skenesborough (see Map, p. 116), he withdrew his army, on the Vermont side. The British were soon in hot pursuit. The American vessels, with their contents, they succeeded in capturing or destroying; and St. Clair's rear-guard was overtaken and worsted with heavy loss.

While Burgoyne pushed slowly on toward the Hudson, part of the flying Americans succeeded in reaching the main body of the northern army at Fort Edward. Gen. Schuyler, who commanded the department, obstructed the enemy's advance in every way he could, but was obliged to fall back before them; and it seemed as if the whole upper valley of the Hudson were at their mercy.

Jane McCrea-The atrocities committed by Burgoyne's Indians brought odium on a cause which could tolerate such inhuman warfare. The tragical fate of Jane McCrea (makkra') may be mentioned in this connection. While the invading army was near Fort Edward, a party of savages carried her off from the house of a friend with whom she was staying. Shortly afterward they appeared in camp with her scalp. Whether she was tomahawked on the way by her captors, in consequence of their quarrelling among themselves—or, as they alleged, was killed by a shot from a pursuing party of Americans, and then scalped according to Indian usage - the barbarous deed awakened universal

loathing.

St. Leger's Expedition.-At the same time that Burgoyne left Canada, Colonel St. Leger had been dispatched with 700 Rangers to the Mohawk Valley, by way of the St. Lawrence and Oswego. After overrunning the country and calling out the Indians and tories, he was to effect a junction with his chief at Albany. St. Leger encountered little or no resistance till he reached the spot where Rome, N. Y., now stands. Here, his force increased by 1,000 tories and Iroquois, he halted to besiege Fort Schuyler,

held by Colonel Gansevoort and a determined garrison (August 3d-see Map, p. 170). Unprovided with a flag, they managed to manufacture one out of an old shirt, pieces of scarlet cloth, and the blue cloak of one of their captains-no very elegant banner, yet one which they determined to defend to the last extremity.

A body of militia from the neighboring country, advancing to the relief of the fort under Gen. Her'kimer, fell into an ambuscade at Oris'kany, and though they retained possession of the field failed of their object. On receiving this news, Schuyler sent Arnold with some volunteers from his camp, to raise the siege. They succeeded in so doing, by an ingenious stratagem. Arnold pardoned a half-witted tory who had been condemned to the gallows, on condition that he would make the besiegers believe that an immense host of Americans was at hand. The tory played his part to perfection. Rushing into the camp as if pursued, with bullet-holes through his coat, he communicated such a panic to both Indians and whites, that they were soon in full flight for Oswego. So ended St. Leger's expedition (August 22d).

Battle of Bennington.-For the purpose of replenishing his supplies, Burgoyne, before hearing of St. Leger's failure, sent out a strong party under Colonel Baum to Bennington, in what is now south-western Vermont. They were met on the 16th of August by Gen. Stark, whom the Assembly of New Hampshire had sent to the frontier of the state with a brigade of militia. "To-day, men, we'll beat the red-coats, or Molly Stark's a widow," was the veteran's inspiring address to his men before engaging. And they did beat the red-coats-not only Baum's detachment, but another sent to re-enforce it, which arrived soon after the first battle. Seven hundred prisoners, with four fieldpieces, as many ammunition-wagons, and nearly a thousand stands of arms, were among the trophies of Bennington.

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First Battle of Stillwater.-These two blows proved fatal to Burgoyne, leading the Indians and Canadians to desert, deterring the tories from joining his ranks, and putting him to great straits for provisions. On the other hand, the Americans kept gathering strength; the militia poured in, and two brigades arrived from the Highlands. Just at this juncture, when his labors seemed on the eve of being crowned with victory, Schuyler, by order of Congress, was superseded by Gen. Gates. Deeply wounded as he was by this injustice, Schuyler did not resent it; on the contrary, he still spared no effort for his country, and helped his rival reap the harvest which of right belonged to himself.

Schuylerville

Fish Creek

Surren
Adler Oct 17

SARATOGA

Oct.7

Sep.19

Gates was soon in a condition to assume a bolder front, and determined to arrest the progress of the invaders at Be'mis's Heights, which Kosciusko was charged with fortifying. Moving slowly amid difficulties that began to look serious, on the 19th of September Burgoyne approached the American lines, and a general action was brought on. first battle of Stillwater, as it is called, was fought with the most determined bravery, Morgan's riflemen and Gen. Arnold particularly distinguishing themselves on the American side. The field was several times successively won and lost by

This

Saratoga Lake

Wilbur's Basin

Camp

British

Mill Creek

Bemiss

Heights

STILL WATER.

American

Great Fall Creek

Camp

BURGOYNE'S BATTLES

SCENE OF

Hudson R

River

SURRENDER