1775] Bunker Hill 173 batteries on the mainland to guard the neck leading to Charlestown; it was possible for Gage to station vessels in the Charles and Mystic rivers and concentrate such a fire on the isthmus that no one could cross it; the British could then occupy Bunker Hill and hold the force in the redoubt at their mercy. On the morning of the 17th, Stark and his men from New Hampshire hastened to Prescott's succor. Joseph Warren (Killed at Bunker Hill) Under Gage's orders, five thousand British soldiers, commanded by Howe, Clinton, and Pigott, attacked the Americans in front; they were twice beaten back, and only the failure of the American ammunition made their third assault a success. The British loss on that day was from one thousand to fifteen hundred men; that of the colonists was about four hundred. The Americans were beaten, although they were not captured to a màn, 1776] Evacuation of Boston 175 as they should have been. Seldom has a defeat proved so inspiriting to the vanquished and so disheartening to the victors. The caution which Howe, who soon succeeded Gage, showed John Stork as long as he commanded the British army can be traced directly to the lesson he received on this memorable field. assumes 1, 132-136; 419-431. 143. Evacuation of Boston, 1776. — Meantime, the Sec- Continental ond Continental Congress had met at Philadelphia in May Congress (1775), had adopted the army blockading Boston as a charge of national force, and had given it a commander,—Colonel war. Fiske's George Washington of Virginia. He assumed direction Revolution, of the military operations on July 3, 1775, and at once *Frothfound that he had a most disheartening task before him. ingham's A full understanding of the difficulties which beset him can Republic, best be learned from his correspondence: his army, based on short terms of enlistment, constantly changed in number and personnel; he had no heavy guns suited to siege operations, and for weeks at a time had no powder, save what the men had in their pouches. Washington was obliged to present a bold front to the enemy, but was unable to undertake any active movement or to explain the reasons for his inaction. In the winter of 1775-76, heavy guns, which Fiske's had been captured in May, 1775, at Ticonderoga and Revolution Crown Point, by men from western New England, were drawn over the snow to his lines, and the capture of a British vessel provided the necessary powder. Now, at last, Washington was able to assume the offensive. March, 1776, he seized and held Dorchester Heights. The Winsor's town and harbor of Boston could no longer be held by the America, British, and on March 17 they evacuated the town, and shortly after left the harbor. 129-132. Evacuation In of Boston. VI, 142-158. Invasion of Canada. Winsor's Meantime two columns, led by Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold, had invaded Canada. Montgomery America, perished gallantly under the walls of Quebec. The rem- VI, 160-167; nants of these forces were rescued with the greatest difficulty in the spring and summer of 1776. Fiske's Change of 1775-76. Jefferson in The " Olive Branch Petition," 1775. Frothingham's Republic, 435, 444-447, 451. Effect of the king's answer. Changes in local government. 144. Growth towards Independence, 1775, 1776. — In 1776, Washington wrote, "When I took command of the army [July, 1775], I abhorred the idea of independence; now, I am convinced, nothing else will save us." There is every reason to believe that Washington's feelings on this subject were those of a large portion of his countrymen. Between July, 1775, and May, 1776, there was a great revulsion of feeling against the further continuance of the union with Great Britain. This change in the sentiments of thousands of colonists can be traced directly to a few leading causes: (1) the contemptuous refusal by George III of the "Olive Branch" petition; (2) the formation of the state governments; (3) the establishment of a national organization; (4) the arguments embodied in the writings of Thomas Paine; and (5) the employment of the "Hessian" soldiers by the British government. In 1775 Thomas Jefferson succeeded Washington as a member of the Virginia delegation. It is not probable that he at once exerted much influence in Congress; but the petition which that body addressed to the king in July, 1775, was much bolder in tone than the preceding petition. Congress now demanded the repeal of "such statutes as more immediately distress any of your Majesty's Colonies." The king refused even to return a formal answer to this "Olive Branch" petition, as the colonists regarded it; instead he issued a proclamation denouncing the colonists as "dangerous and ill-designing men who had at length proceeded to an open and avowed rebellion." As to the effect of this proclamation on the public mind, John Jay wrote, "Until after the rejection of the second petition of Congress in 1775, I never heard an American of any class or of any description express a wish for the independence of the colonies." - Another 145. The State Constitutions, 1775, 1776. important step in bringing about the change in sentiment noted in the preceding section, was the necessity for making new provisions for government in the several colonies. 1776] The State Constitutions 177 1775. In some cases, as in Virginia and New Hampshire, the departure of the royal governors left the people without any government; in other cases, as in Massachusetts, resistance to the royal authorities made new arrangements necessary. In the last-named colony, a revolutionary body termed the Provincial Congress had assumed charge of the government of the province. The people, however, were restless, and those in power turned to the Continental Congress for advice. On June 9, 1775, that body voted, that as no Advice of obedience was due to the act of Parliament altering the Congress, charter of the colony of Massachusetts, nor to a governor who would not govern according to the charter, he should be considered as absent and the colonists advised to proceed under the charter without a governor "until a governor of his Majesty's appointment will consent to govern the colony according to the charter." The condition of affairs in New Hampshire was different, as that province had no charter to fall back upon: Congress, therefore, voted in her case (November, 1775), "That it be recommended to the provincial convention of New Hampshire to call a full and free representation of the people . . . [to] establish such a form of government as in their judgment will best produce the happiness of the people, and most effectually secure peace and good order in that province, during the continuance of the present dispute between Great Britain and the colonies." Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire proceeded in accordance with the advice of Congress. It will be noticed that Congress in these votes provided only for a temporary arrangement and evinced no desire for independence. Advice of 1776. By May of the next year, the temper of Congress and of the people had undergone a radical change. On May 15 (1776) Congress recommended "the respective assemblies Frothand conventions of the United Colonies, where no govern- ingham's ment sufficient to the exigencies of their affairs hath been Republic, hitherto established, to adopt such a government as shall in the opinion of the representatives of the people best 496-498. |