command, repaired to Montreal to obtain assistance. Shortly afterwards, Captain Foster appeared, and invested the fort. He had no artillery, and in the course of two days but one man was wounded. More efficient than his arms was the intimation, that if any of the Indians should be killed, it would not be in his power to restrain them from the massacre of the garrison. Intimidated by this, Major Butterfield surrendered his whole party prisoners of war, stipulating only for their baggage and their lives.

Upon the representation of Colonel Bedell, a reinforcement was ordered to march from Montreal; but he, more mindful of safety than honour, declined returning with it, and the command was given to Major Sherburne. The day after the surrender of the fort, of which event the major was ignorant, and about four miles from it, he was met by a large body of Indians, to whom, after an obstinate and bloody conflict he was obliged to surrender. The whole loss of the Americans was at least five hundred.

General Sullivan was appointed to succeed General Thomas, and on the first of June, arrived at the river Sorel, where be found between four and five thousand men. But the army of the enemy had, in the mean time, been augmented to thirteen thousand. Commanding a force so decidedly superior, Governor Carleton pressed forward in pursuit, and the Americans retreated slowly and reluctantly before him. At St. Johns, the pursuit ceased; but General Sullivan, in obedience to orders from General Schuyler, conti

S

nued his march to Crown Point, at the head of lake Champlain.

Thus terminated the expedition against Canada. In its conception, it was singularly bold and romantic. In its progress were displayed fortitude and bravery seldom equalled in military annals. Its failure was a painful disappointment to the patriots of the day. It is now consoling to reflect, that success would probably have proved injurious to the cause of independence. To protect the province, the military force of the confederacy must have been too much extended, and colonies more important have been left defenceless.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CAMPAIGN OF 1776.

THE last humble petition of congress to the king was presented by Mr. Penn, the late governor of Pennsylvania. A few days afterwards he was told by the minister that no answer would be made to it. The haughty spirit which dictated this reply pervaded both houses of parliament.

In December, a law was passed amounting to a declaration of war against the colonies. Treaties were made with the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel and other German princes, hiring of them seventeen thousand men, to be employed against the Americans; and it was determined to send over, in addition to these, twenty-five thousand English troops.

In the beginning of the year 1776, a fleet under Sir Peter Parker, and two thousand five hundred troops commanded by Earl Cornwallis, were dispatched upon an expedition against the southern colonies. Soon after, Admiral Hotham set sail with a large number of transports, carrying the first division of Hessians; and in May followed Admiral Lord Howe, who had been appointed commander of the naval force on the American station. He, and his brother, General Howe, had also been appointed joint commissioners to grant pardons on submission.

On the first of May, the fleet under Sir Peter Parker, arrived on the coast of North Carolina, where sir Henry Clinton, arriving at the same time from New York, took command of the troops. The late defeat of the highland emigrants had so dispirited the loyalists in this colony, that he determined to proceed farther south, and attack Charleston, the capital of South Carolina.

Fortunately, an official letter, announcing the speedy departure of the expedition from England, had been intercepted early in the spring, and time was thus given to place this city in a state of defence. A strong fort was built on Sullivan's island, a position from which ships, on entering the harbour, could be greatly annoyed; the streets, in different places, were strongly barricaded; the stores on the wharves, though of great value, were pulled down, and lines of defence erected along the water's edge.

On learning the near approach of the enemy, the militia of the country were summoned to de

fend the capital. They obeyed with alacrity, increasing to five or six thousand the number of troops. General Lee had been sent from New York to take the chief command; and his high military reputation gave confidence to the soldiers and inhabitants. Under him were Colonels Gadsden, Moultrie, and Thompson.

In the morning of the 28th of June, nine ships of war, carrying two hundred and fifty guns, began a furious attack upon the fort on the island, which was garrisoned by about four hundred men, under the command of Colonel Moultrie. At the same time, a detachment of troops was landed on an adjoining island, and directed to cross over, at a place where the sea was supposed to be shallow, and attack it in the rear.

The heavy and incessant fire of the enemy was received with coolness, and returned with skill. Many of their ships suffered severely, and particularly the Bristol, on board of which was Commodore Parker. She was twice in flames, her captain was killed, and so dreadful was the slaughter, that at one time the commodore was the only person upon deck unhurt.

In the midst of the action, General Lee visited the garrison. He was delighted with the enthusiasm they exhibited. Nothing seemed capable of quenching their ardour. Soldiers, mortally wounded, exhorted their comrades never to abandon the standard of liberty. "I die," said Sergeant M'Donald, in his last moments, "for a glorious cause; but I hope it will not expire with me."

The British troops, destined to attack the fort

in the rear, found it impossible to reach the island. The engagement with the fleet continued until dark. The ships, having received too much injury to renew it, moved off in the night; and a few days afterwards, the fleet, with the troops on board, set sail for New York, where the whole British force had been ordered to assemble.

The killed and wounded on the part of the enemy amounted to near two hundred. Of the Americans, ten were killed and twenty-two wounded. The troops, for their gallantry, received the thanks of congress, and high and well merited praise from their countrymen. Their success was auspicious to the cause of freedom. In a part of the country where resistance by force had been but little contemplated, it aroused the people to exertion, and inspired them with confidence.

In

Notwithstanding the active war carried on, the colonies still professed allegiance to the British king; and protested that the sole object of all their measures was a redress of grievances. the beginning of the contest, these professions, in most instances, were sincere; but a state of hostility produced a rapid change of sentiment. In place of attachment to monarchy and to Great Britain, succeeded devotion to republican principles, and wishes for independence.

The temporary constitutions adopted by New Hampshire, and several other colonies, had shown with what facility all bonds of connexion with the mother country could be dissolved. Essays in the newspapers, and pamphlets industriously cir