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TREATY WITH FRANCE-BRITISH COMMISSIONERS.

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be printed in the newspapers, accompanied by a severe CHAP criticism, furnished by a committee of the House.

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Presently came the news that France had acknow- 1778. ledged the independence of the States, and had entered into a treaty with them of commerce and defence. The light had dawned upon the American cause! A thrill of joy went throughout the land.

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The treaty between the United States and France May produced a great sensation in England. It is madness to protract the war! said the friends of America. Let us acknowledge the independence of the States, and obtain their good will by liberal terms of commerce, lest our great rival win them to herself. But no! the idea was scouted; the war must be prosecuted, blood must still flow.

In June came the commissioners to treat under Lord North's conciliatory bills. They were the Earl of Carlisle, William Eden, brother of the late governor of Maryland, and George Johnstone, formerly governor of Florida, and who had been a friend of the Americans in Parliament.

The commissioners sent their proposals to Congress, but that body refused to treat, until the independence of the States was acknowledged, and the British troops withdrawn. As the commissioners could not grant these demands, negotiations were not commenced. Some of the commissioners indirectly resorted to bribery, and by means of a loyalist lady of Philadelphia, made propositions to General Joseph Reed, of ten thousand pounds, and any office in the colonies he might choose, if he would aid the object of the mission. To which offer he made this memorable reply: "I am not worth purchasing, but such as I am, the king of England is not rich enough to buy me."

When it was known that a French fleet was expected on the coast, the British hastened to evacuate Philadelphia, and retreat to New York. Most of the stores, together with the sick and wounded, were sent round by

June

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CHAP. water, while the army, twelve thousand strong, took up its line of march across New Jersey. Washington was 1778. soon in pursuit. The weather was excessively warm, and the heavily armed British moved very slowly. The Americans soon came up. A council of war was held, and the question discussed, whether to attack the enemy and bring on a general engagement, or merely harass them on their march. Washington, with Greene and Lafayette, was in favor of the former manner of attack, and Lee, for some reason, strenuously advocated the latter. When it was decided to bring on a general engagement, Lee, as his advice had not been taken, declined to take any command in the affair.

June

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Washington therefore sent Lafayette forward with two thousand men, to take position on the hills, and thus crowd Sir Henry Clinton off into the plain. The next morning Lee had changed his mind, and asked to be given a command. Washington sent him forward with two brigades, and when he came up with Lafayette, being of superior rank, he assumed the command of the entire advance division.

The British encamped near Monmouth Court-house. There were morasses and groves of woods in the vicinity, a difficult place in which to manoeuvre troops.

When Lee advanced, he found a force of apparently about two thousand on the march, but a portion of the woods obstructed a full view. He made his arrangements to cut off this force, and sent word of his movements to Washington. But when he came upon the division, he found it much stronger than he anticipated-in truth, Clinton had thrown this strong force of German and British there, for the express purpose of giving the Americans a severe check.

The battle had scarcely begun, before occurred a misapprehension of orders. The Americans began to retreat, and Lee, in the hurry of the moment, forgot to send word of

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the movement to Washington, who was advancing with CHAP the main body to his support. The retreat had passed into almost a flight. When Washington met the troops he inquired why they were retreating. The reply was, they did not know, but they had received the order. Suspecting that this movement was designed to mar the plan of attack, he spurred on, and presently met Lee, of whom he demanded, in a stern manner: "What is the meaning of all this, sir ?" Lee, disconcerted, hesitated for a moment to reply, and was asked again. He then began to explain, that the confusion had arisen from disobedience of orders; and, moreover, he did not wish to meet the whole British army. Washington rejoined, "that he understood it was a mere covering party," adding: "I am very sorry that you undertook the command unless you meant to fight the enemy." Lee replied, that he did not think it prudent to bring on a general engagement. "Whatever your opinion may have been," replied Washington, disdainfully, "I expect my orders to be obeyed." This conversation took but a moment.

Washington hastily formed the men on a rising ground. The enemy came up in force, and other divisions of the Americans also mingled in the conflict. Night ended the battle. The Americans slept upon their arms, expecting to renew the contest in the morning. But Clinton skilfully drew off his army during the night, and at daylight was far on his way. Washington did not attempt to pursue, as the weather was intolerably warm, and the march through a sandy region, destitute of water. The Americans lost altogether about two hundred, many of them on account of the extreme heat the British about three hundred in the battle, and on the march two thousand Hessians deserted.

After refreshing his men, Washington marched across New Jersey, passed the Hudson, and took position at White Plains, to be ready to co-operate with the French fleet

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CHAP. in an attack upon New York. Lord Howe had scarcely left the Delaware when Count D'Estaing appeared with a 1778 squadron. While at sea, D'Estaing communicated with Washington by letter. Finding that the British had evacuated Philadelphia, he put to sea, and soon anchored off Sandy Hook.

The day after the battle, Lee wrote a note, disrespectful in its tone, to Washington, who replied; and this produced another note from Lee, still more offensive, demanding a court of inquiry, and in the mean time intimating that he should retire from the army. The court found him guilty of disobedience of orders and disrespect to the Cominander-in-chief, and sentenced him to be suspended for one year from the army. He retired to his estate in Virginia, and there beguiled his leisure in writing scurrilous letters concerning the army and its commander. When his sentence of suspension was about to expire, he, for some fancied neglect, wrote an insolent letter to Congress. That body immediately dismissed him from the army. Thus ended the military career of General Charles Lee. A few years afterward he died in Philadelphia. His life had been that of the soldier; and in the delirium of death he murmured, "Stand by me, my brave grenadiers ! "

The French fleet brought Monsieur Gerard as ambassador to the United States, and also Silas Deane, Doctor Franklin, and Arthur Lee, with whom, on the part of the United States, the treaty had been made.

Howe ran his ships within the bay of New York, and as the large vessels of the French could not pass the bar at Sandy Hook, the combined attack upon the city was abandoned. Instead, it was resolved to make an attack upon Newport, on the island of Rhode Island. This was a British stronghold and depot, and garrisoned by six thousand men, under General Pigot. The brutality of these British troops had excited against them the bitterest

THE FAILURE AT NEWPORT.

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hatred, and when called upon by General Sullivan, who CHAP was in command, thousands of the militia of the surrounding country flocked to avenge their wrongs. John Han- 1778. cock, on this occasion, led the Massachusetts militia, as general. D'Estaing sailed to Newport, where he arrived a week before the force sent by Washington under Greene and Lafayette. This unavoidable delay ruined the enterprise. When the Americans appeared, the British guard left the works on the north end of the island, and retired to their inner lines. The Americans immediately passed Aug over and occupied the abandoned works. The very day of this occupancy, Lord Howe appeared with a fleet, and D'Estaing went out to give him battle. They both manœuvred their fleets to obtain the advantage of position, when a terrible storm arose and separated them.

In the mean time, the Americans moved near the encmy's works, and commenced to cannonade them, expecting that the French fleet would soon return to their aid. D'Estaing did return, but instead of landing the four thousand troops on board, he set sail for Boston to refit his vessels, which the late storm had shattered.

The Americans now abandoned their lines, and by night retreated, repulsing the division of the enemy sent in pursuit. It was time, for the British were strongly reinforced from New York by four thousand troops, under Clinton himself.

To deceive the enemy, and escape safely from the island, Sullivan sent a party to occupy a hill in sight of the British lines. The party began to throw up intrenchments, and in the evening pitched their tents; but as soon as it was night, they silently decamped, and in the morning were all safely on the main land.

A great clamor arose because D'Estaing failed to cooperate with the Americans at Newport. Subsequent investigation seemed to justify him; at least, Congress passed a resolution approving his conduct. This may,

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