Stillwater (and twenty-five from Albany), and also formed a fortified camp.' Burgoyne perceived the necessity for immediate operations, and advancing toward the American camp, a severe but indecisive action ensued, on the 19th of September [1777]. Night terminated the conflict, and both parties claimed the victory. Burgoyne fell back to his camp, where he resolved to await the arrival of expected detachments from General Clinton, who was to attack the posts on the Hudson Highlands, and force his way to Albany. But after waiting a few days, and hearing nothing from Clinton, he prepared for another attempt upon the Americans, for the militia were flocking to Gates's camp, and Indian warriors of the SIX NATIONS were gathering there. His own force, on the contrary, was hourly diminishing. As his star, which arose so brightly at Ticonderoga, began to decline upon the Hudson, the Canadians and his Indian allies deserted him in great numbers. He was compelled to fight or flee. Again he advanced; and after a severe battle of several hours, on the 7th of October, and almost on the same ground occupied on the 19th of September, he was compelled to fall back to the heights of Saratoga, and leave the patriots in the possession of the field. Ten days afterward [October 17], finding only three days' provisions in his camp, hearing nothing of Clinton, and perceiving retreat impossible, he was compelled to surrender his whole army prisoners of war. Of necessity, the forts upon Lake Champlain now fell into the hands of the patriots.

5

BEMIS'S HEIGHTS.

'The remains of some of the intrenchments were yet visible in 1850, when the writer visited the locality.

2 The number of Americans engaged in this action, was about two thousand five hundred; that of the British was about three thousand. The former lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, three hundred and nineteen; the British loss was rather less than five hundred.

Page 25.

3

Page 283.

5

Page 276.

The Indians had been disappointed in their expectations of blood and plunder; and now was their hunting season, when provisions must be secured for winter use. The Canadians saw nothing but defeat in the future, and left the army in whole companies.

The whole number surrendered was five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, of whom two thousand four hundred and twelve were Germans or Hessians [page 183], under the chief command of the Baron Riedesel, whose wife accompanied him, and afterward wrote a very interesting account of her experience in America. Burgoyne did dine at Albany, but as a prisoner, though a guest at the table of General Schuyler. That noble patriot, though smarting under the injustice of Congress and the pride of Gates, did not abate his zeal for the good cause when he had surrendered his command into the hands of his successor, but, as a private citizen, gave his time, his labor, and his money freely, until he saw the invader humbled; and then, notwithstanding Burgoyne, without the show of a just excuse, had destroyed Schuyler's fine mansion, his mills, and much other property, at Saratoga, he made the vanquished general a guest at his own table. When Burgoyne said, "You are very kind to one who has done you so much injury," the generous patriot replied, "That was the fate of war; let us say no more about it." Burgoyne's troops laid down their arms upon the plain in front of Schuylerville; and the meeting of the conqueror and the conquered, for the latter to surrender his sword, was a very significant scene. The two came out of Gates's marquee together. Without exchanging a word, Burgoyne, according to previous arrangement, stepped back, drew his sword, and, in the presence of the two armies, presented it to General Gates. The latter received it with a courteous inclination of the head, and instantly returned it to the vanquished general. They then returned to the marquee together. The British filed off, and took up their line of march for Boston; and thus ended this important act in the great drama, upon the heights of Saratoga. Burgoyne's troops were marched to Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the view of sending

2

Glorious, indeed, was this victory for the Americans. It gave them a fine train of brass artillery, five thousand muskets, and a vast amount of munitions of war. Its moral effect was of greater importance. All eyes had been anxiously turned to the army of the North, and Congress and the people listened eagerly for every breath of rumor from Saratoga. How electric was the effect when a shout of victory came from the camp of Gates!' It rolled over the land, and was echoed from furrows, workshops, marts of commerce, the halls of legislation, and from the shattered army of Washington at Whitemarsh. Toryism stood abashed; the bills of Congress rose twenty per cent. in value; private capital came from its hiding-places for public employment; the militia flocked to the standards of leaders, and the great patriot heart of America beat with strong pulsations of hope. The effect in Europe was also favorable to the Americans. The highest hopes of the British ministry rested on this expedition, and the generalship of Burgoyne justified their expectations. It was a most severe blow, and gave the opposition in Parliament the keenest weapons. Pitt, leaning upon his crutches,' poured forth eloquent denunciations [December, 1777] of the mode of warfare pursued—the employment of German hirelings and brutal savages." "If I were an American, as I am an Englishman," he exclaimed, "while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms-never, never, never!" In the Lower House," Burke, Fox, and Barrè were equally severe upon the government. When, on the 3d of December, the news of Burgoyne's defeat reached London, the latter arose in his place in the Commons, and with a serene and solemn countenance, asked Lord George Germain, the Secretary of War, what news he had received by his last expresses from Quebec, and to say, upon his word of honor, what had become of Burgoyne and his brave army. The haughty secretary was irritated by the cool irony of the question, but was compelled to acknowledge that the unhappy intelligence of Burgoyne's surrender had reached him. He added, "The intelligence needs confirmation." That confirmation was not slow in reaching the ministry.

Mightily did this victory weigh in favor of the Americans, at the French

them to Europe, but Congress thought it proper to retain them, and they were marched to the interior of Virginia. John Burgoyne was a natural son of Lord Bingley, and was quite eminent as a dramatic author. On his return to England, he resumed his scat as a member of Parliament, and opposed the war. He died in 1792.

1 General Gates was so elated with the victory, which had been prepared for him by General Schuyler, and won chiefly by the valor of Arnold and Morgan [page 331], that he neglected the courtesy due to the commander-in-chief, and instead of sending his dispatches to him, he sent his aid, Colonel Wilkinson, with a verbal message to Congress. That body also forgot its dignity in the hour of its joy, and the young officer was allowed to announce the victory himself, on the floor of Congress. In his subsequent dispatches, Gates did not even mention the names of Arnold and Morgan. History has vindicated their claims to the honor of the victory, and placed a just estimate upon the ungenerous conduct of their commander. Congress voted a gold medal to Gates. 2 Page 275. 3 Note 3, page 245. Note 1, page 231. Note 3, page 246. A member justified the employment of the Indians, by saying that the British had a right to use the means "which God and nature had given them." Pitt scornfully repeated the passage, and said, "These abominable principles, and this most abominable avowal of them, demands most decisive indignation. I call upon that right reverend bench (pointing to the bishops), those holy ministers of the gospel, and pious pastors of the church-I conjure them to join in the holy work, and to vindicate the religion of their God." Note 2, page 218. Note 2, page 218.

court.

Unaided by any foreign power, the Americans had defeated and captured a well-trained army of about six thousand men, led by experienced commanders. "Surely such a people possess the elements of success, and will achieve it. We may now safely strike England a severe blow,' by acknowledging the independence, and forming an alliance with her revolted colonies," argued the French government. And so it did. Intelligence of the surrender of Burgoyne reached Paris on the 4th of December, 1777. King Louis then cast off all disguise, and informed the American commissioners that the treaty of alliance and commerce, already negotiated, would be ratified, and "that it was decided to acknowledge the independence of the United States." Within a little more than a hundred days after Burgoyne laid down his arms at Saratoga, France had formed an alliance with the confederated States [Feb. 6, 1778], and publicly avowed it. The French king, in the mean while, wrote to his uncle, the king of Spain, urging his co-operation; for, according to the family compact of the Bourbons, made in 1761, the king of Spain was to be consulted before such a treaty could be ratified.

While these events were in progress at Saratoga, General Clinton was making hostile demonstrations upon the banks of the lower Hudson. He attempted the concerted co-operation with Burgoyne, but he was too late for success. He ascended the Hudson with a strong force, captured Forts Clinton and Montgomery, in the Highlands' [October 6, 1777], and sent a marauding expedition above these mountain barriers, to devastate the country [October 13], and endeavor to draw off some of the patriot troops from Saratoga. These marauders burned Kingston, and penetrated as far as Livingston's Manor, in Columbia county. Informed of the surrender of Burgoyne, they hastily retreated, and Clinton and his army returned to New York. Some of Gates' troops now joined Washington at White Marsh, and Howe made several attempts to entice the chief from his encampment, but without success. Finally

3

1 France rejoiced at the embarrassments of England, on account of her revolted colonies, and from the beginning secretly favored the latter. She thought it inexpedient to aid the colonies openly, until there appeared some chance for their success, yet arms and money were secretly provided [note 3, page 266], for a long time previous to the alliance. Her motives were not the benevolent ones to aid the patriots, so much as a selfish desire to injure England for her own benefit. The French king, in a letter to his uncle, of Spain, avowed the objects to be to "prevent the union of the colonies with the mother country," and to "form a beneficial alliance with them." A Bourbon (the family of French kings) was never known to be an honest advocate of free principles. 2 These forts were situated on opposite sides of a stream which forms the dividing line between Orange and Rockland counties. Fort Indpendence, near Peekskill, and Fort Constitution, opposite West Point, were abandoned on his approach. Fort Putnam, at West Point, was not yet erected.

While the garrison of the two forts (who escaped) were re-gathering, back of New Windsor, a man from the British army was arrested on suspicion of being a spy. He was seen to swallow something. An emetic brought it up, and it was discovered to be a hollow silver bullet, containing a dispatch from Clinton to Burgoyne, written on thin paper. That bullet is yet in the family of George Clinton, who was the first republican governor of New York. The dispatch was as follows: "Nous y voici [Here we are], and nothing between us and Gates. I sincerely hope this little success of ours will facilitate your operations. In answer to your letter of the 28th of September, by C. C., I shall only say, I can not presume to order, or even advise, for reasons obvious. I heartily wish you success. Faithfully yours, H. CLINTON." The prisoner was taken to Kingston, and there hanged as a spy.

⚫ Page 275.

Howe marched out to attack Washington on the 4th of December, expecting to take him by surprise. A Quaker lady of Philadelphia, at whose house some British officers were quartered, had

Washington moved from that position [December 11], and went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, where he might easier afford protection to Congress at York, and his stores at Reading. The events of that encampment at Valley Forge afford some of the gloomiest as well as some of the most brilliant scenes in the records of American patriotism.

CHAPTER V.

FOURTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [1778.]

If there is a spot on the face of our broad land wherein patriotism should delight to pile its highest and most venerated monument, it should be in the bosom of that rugged gorge on the bank of the Schuylkill, twenty miles north

Tras Hopkinson

west from Philadelphia, known as Valley Forge, where the American army was encamped during the terrible winter of 1777-'78. In all the world's his

overheard them talking about this enterprise, gave Washington timely information, and he was too well prepared for Howe, to fear his menaces. After some skirmishes, in which several Americans were lost, Howe returned to Philadelphia. 1 Page 274. 2 That was a winter of severe and protracted cold. The waters of New York Bay were so firmly frozen, that the British took heavy cannons from the city to Staten Island, on the ice.

tory, we have no record of purer devotion, holier sincerity, or more pious selfimmolation, than was then and there exhibited in the camp of Washington. Many of the soldiers had marched thither from Whitemarsh, bare-footed, and left bloody foot-prints in the snow on their dreary journey. There, in the midst of frost and snow, halfclad and scantily fed, they shivered in rude huts, while the British army was indulging in comforts and luxuries within a large city. Yet that freezing and starving army did not despair; nor did the commander-in-chief, who shared their privations and suffered injury at the hands of intriguing men, lose confidence in the patriotism of the people or his troops, or doubt the wisdom of Providence. The winter wore away, and when the buds began to burst, a cheering ray of glad tidings came from Europe. The intelligence of the treaty of alliance with France,' was a hopeful assurance of success, and when the news spread through the camp, on the 1st of May [1778], shouts loud and long shook the forests which shrouded the hills around Valley Forge.

ENCAMPMENT AT VALLEY FORGE

Nor was that a solitary gleam of hope. Light also emanated from the

1 Gordon, the historian, says, that while at Washington's table in 1784, the chief informed him that bloody foot-prints were everywhere visible in the course of their march of nineteen miles, from Whitemarsh to Valley Forge.

The power of the British army was much weakened by indulgence, during that winter. Profligacy begat disease, crime, and insubordination. The evil effects produced upon the army led Dr. Franklin to say, "Howe did not take Philadelphia-Philadelphia took Howe." General Howe took leave of the army in May, and the officers gave him a splendid farewell fête, which was called a Mischianza, signifying a medley. For a full description, see Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution. During their occupation of the city, the enemy were annoyed by the patriots in various ways. In January, some Whigs at Bordentown, where Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, resided, sent a number of kegs down the Delaware, which were filled with powder, and furnished with machinery, in such a manner, that on rubbing against any object in the stream, they would explode. These were the torpedoes invented by Bushnell of Connecticut, already mentioned on page 252. The British vessels, hauled into the docks to keep clear of the ice, escaped receiving any injury from these missiles. One of them exploded near the city, and produced intense alarm. Not a stick or a chip was seen floating, for twenty-four hours afterward, but it was fired at by the British. This circumstance afforded the theme for that remarkable poem from the pen of Hopkinson, entitled The Battle of the Kegs. Hopkinson [see page 284] was a native of Philadelphia and married and settled in Bordentown, New Jersey. He was an elegant writer, a great wit, a good musician, and a thorough-bred gentleman. He was a warm and active patriot, became eminent as a jurist after the war, and died in 1791, at the age of forty-seven years. His brother, Joseph Hopkinson, was the author of our national song, Hail Columbia.

3

During this season a scheme was formed among a few officers of the army, and members of Congress, for depriving Washington of his command, and giving it to Gates or Lee. Both of theso ambitious men sought the honor, and the former was fully identified with the clandestine movements toward that end. One of the chief actors in the plot, who was more the instrument of others than a voluntary and independent schemer, was General Conway, an Irishman, who belonged to the Continental army. The plot was discovered and defeated, and Conway was led to make a most humble apology to Washington, for his conduct.

On one occasion, Isaac Potts, whose house was Washington's head-quarters at Valley Forge, discovered the chief in a retired place, pouring out his soul in prayer to his God. Potts went home to his wife, and said, with tears in his eyes, "If there is any one on this earth to whom the Lord will listen, it is George Washington Page 283. On the 7th day of May the army fired salutes in honor of the event, and by direction of the chief, they all shouted, "Huzza for the king of France !"