army lay near the Edisto; and Wayne, always vigilant, kept the enemy as close within his intrenchments at Savannah. Washington, who returned to the North immediately after the surrender, was, at the same time, keeping Clinton and his army close prisoners in New York.

While the theater of war was thus narrowing, British statesmen of all parties, considering the capture of Cornwallis and his army as the death-blow to all hope for future conquests, turned their attention to measures for an honorable termination of the unnatural war. General Conway, the firm and long-tried friend of the Americans, offered a resolution in Parliament in February [1782], which was preliminary to the enactment of a decree for commanding the cessation of hostilities. It was lost by only one vote. Thus encouraged,

ing his duties as a member of the South Carolina Legislature. He left his men in command of Colonel Horry, and near the Santee, Colonel Thompson (afterward the eminent Count Rumford) attacked the corps, with a superior force, and dispersed it. Marion arrived during the engagement, rallied his brigade, and then retired beyond the Santee, to reorganize and recruit. Benjamin Thompson was a native of Massachusetts, and was born in March, 1753. He became a schoolmaster, and while acting in that capacity, he married a rich widow. Already his mind was filled with scientific knowledge, and now he pursued his studies and investigations with energy. When the Revolution broke out, he refused to take part in political matters. The Whigs drove him to Boston for British protection, and he was sent to England by Lord Howe, with dispatches. Toward the close of the war, he commanded a corps of Tories at New York and Charleston. He returned to Europe, became acquainted with the sovereign of Bavaria, made himself exceedingly useful, was raised to the highest dignity, and was created a count. After suffering many vicissitudes, he died, near Paris, in August, 1814. His daughter, the Countess of Rumford, who was born in America, died at Concord, New Hampshire, in 1852. See Lossing's Eminent Americans.

the opposition pressed the subject warmly upon the attention of the House of Commons and the nation, and on the 4th of March, Conway moved "That the House would consider as enemies to his majesty and the country all those who should advise, or by any means attempt, the further prosecution of offensive

war on the Continent of North America." The resolution was carried without a division, and the next day the attorney-general introduced a plan for a truce with the Americans. Orders for a cessation of hostilities speedily went forth to the British commanders in America, and preparations were soon made for evacuating the cities of Savannah and Charleston.

When General Leslie, the British commander at Charleston, was apprised of these proceed ings in Parliament, he proposed to General Greene a cessation of hostilities. Like a true soldier, Greene referred the matter to Congress, and did not for a moment relax his vigilance. Leslie also requested Greene to allow him to purchase supplies for his army, at the same time declaring his intention to evacuate Charleston. Greene was unwilling thus to nourish a viper, until his power to injure was destroyed, and he refused. Leslie then resorted to force to obtain provisions. Already he had made several efforts to penetrate the country for the purpose, and now, late in August, he attempted to ascend the Combahee,' when he was opposed by the Americans under General Gist, of

1 Page 42.

the Maryland line. Colonel John Laurens' volunteered in the service; and in a skirmish at day-break, on the 25th of August, he was killed. He was greatly beloved by all, and his death was mourned with real sorrow. His was almost the last life sacrificed in that glorious old war. The blood of one other was shed at Stono Ferro,' a few weeks afterward, when Captain Wilmot was killed in a skirmish with a British foraging party.

That

Several weeks previous to this, the British had evacuated Savannah. event occurred on the 11th of July, when General Wayne, in consideration of the eminent services of Colonel James Jackson,' appointed him to "receive the keys of the city of Savannah" from a committee of British officers. He performed the duty with great dignity, and on the same day the American army entered the city. Royal power then ceased in Georgia, forever. On the 14th of December following, the British evacuated Charleston, and the next day, the Americans, under General Greene, took possession of it, greeted from windows, balconies, and even house-tops, with cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, and cries of "God bless you, gentlemen! Welcome! Welcome!" The British remained in New York almost a year longer (until the 25th of November, 1783), under the command of Sir Guy Carleton, who had succeeded Sir Henry Clinton, because the final negotiations for peace were not completed, by ratification, until near that time.

Measures were now taken by Congress and the British government to arrange a treaty of peace. The United States appointed five commissioners for the purpose, in order that different sections of the Union might be represented. These consisted of John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens. These met Richard Oswald, the English commissioner, at Paris, and there, on the 30th of November, 1782, they signed a preliminary treaty. French and English commissioners also signed a treaty of peace on the 20th of January following. Congress ratified the action of its commissioners in April, 1783, yet negotiations were in progress until September following, when a definitive treaty was signed [September 3, 1783] at Paris.' In that treaty, England acknowledged the Independence of the United States; allowed ample boundaries, extending northward to the Great Lakes,

1 Note 2, page 329.

* Page 296.

3 James Jackson was one of the most eminent men in Georgia. He was born in England, in September, 1757, and came to America in 1772. He studied law at Savannah, and was an active soldier during the whole war for Independence. When a little past thirty years of age, he was elected governor of Georgia, but declined the honor on account of his youth. He was a member of the United States Senate for some time, and was governor of his State for two years. He died, while at Washington, as United States senator, in 1808, and his remains are in the Congressional burial-ground. See his portrait on page 347.

Vergennes, the French minister, was dissatisfied with the manner in which the matter had been conducted. It was understood, by the terms of the alliance between the United States and France (and expressly stated in the instructions of the commissioners), that no treaty should be signed by the latter without the knowledge of the other. Yet it was done on this occasion. A portion of the American commissioners doubted the good faith of Vergennes, because he favored Spanish claims. Dr. Franklin, however, trusted Vergennes implicitly, and the latter appears to have acted honorably, throughout. The cloud of dissatisfaction soon passed away, when Franklin, with soft words, explained the whole matter.

It was signed, on the part of England, by David Hartley, and on that of the United States, by Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay.

and westward to the Mississippi, and an unlimited right of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. The two Floridas were restored to Spain. At the same time, definitive treaties between England, France, Spain, and Holland, were signed by their respective commissioners,' and the United States became an active power among the nations of the earth."

A great work had now been accomplished, yet the joy of the American people, in view of returning peace and prosperity, was mingled with many gloomy apprehensions of evil. The army, which, through the most terrible sufferings, had remained faithful, and become conqueror, was soon to be disbanded; and thousands, many of them made invalids by the hard service in which they had been engaged, would be compelled to seek a livelihood in the midst of the desolation which war had produced. For a long time the public treasury had been empty, and neither officers nor soldiers had received any pay for their services. A resolution of Congress, passed in 1780 [October 21], to allow the officers half pay for life, was ineffective, because funds were wanting. Already the gloomy prospect had created wide-spread murmurings in the army, and there were many men who sighed for a stronger government. They ascribed the weakness of the Confederation to its republican form, and a change, to be wrought by the army, was actually proposed to Washington. Nicola, a foreign officer in a Pennsylvania regiment, made the proposition, in a well-written letter, and not only urged the necessity of a monarchy, but endeavored to persuade Washington to become king, by the voice of the army. The sharp rebuke of the commander-in-chief [May, 1782], checked all further movements in that direction.

The general discontent soon assumed another shape, and on the 11th of March, 1783, a well-written address was circulated through the American camp (then near Newburg), which advised the army to take matters into its own hands, make a demonstration that should arouse the fears of the people and of Congress, and thus obtain justice for themselves. For this purpose a meeting of officers was called, but the great influence of Washington prevented a response. The commander-in-chief then summoned all the officers together, laid the matter before them [March 15], and obtained from them a patriotic expression of their faith in the "justice of Congress and the country." In a few days the threatening cloud passed away, and soon after this event Congress made arrangements for granting to the officers full pay for five years, instead of half pay for life; and to the soldiers full pay for four months, in partial liquidation of their claims. This arrangement was not satisfactory, and discon

1

That between Great Britain and Holland was signed on the second.

John Adams was the first minister of the United States to Great Britain. He was politely received by King George the Third; and that monarch was faithful to his promises to preserve inviolate the covenant he had made by acknowledging the independence of the new Republic.

The army, consisting of about ten thousand men, was then encamped on the Hudson, near Newburg.

This address was anonymous, but it was afterward acknowledged to be the production of John Armstrong, then a major, and one of General Gates's aids. It is believed that Gates and other officers were the instigators of the scheme, and that Armstrong acted under their direction. He was an accomplished writer, and was much in public life after the war. He was United States minister to France for six years, from 1804. He was Secretary of War in 1814; and died in Dutchess. County, New York, in 1843, in the eighty-fifth year of his age.

tent still prevailed.' In the mean while [March 2] the preliminary treaty had arrived. On the eighth anniversary of the skirmish at Lexington [April 19, 1783], a cessation of hostilites was proclaimed in the army, and on the 3d of November following, the army was disbanded by a general order of Congress. A small force was retained under a definite enlistment, until a peace establishment should be organized. These were now at West Point, under the command of General Knox. The remainder of that glorious band of patriots then quietly returned to their homes, to enjoy, for the remnant of their lives, the blessings of the liberty they had won, and the grateful benedictions of their countrymen. Of the two hundred and thirty thousand Continental soldiers, and the fifty-six thousand militia who bore arms during the war, not more than six hundred now [1856] remain among us!" And the average of these must be full ninety years.

The British army evacuated the city of New York on the 25th of November, 1783. With their departure, went, forever, the last instrument of royal power in these United States. On the morning of that day-a cold, frosty, but clear and brilliant morning-the American troops, under General Knox, who had come down from West Point and encamped at Harlem, marched to the Bowery Lane, and halted at the present junction of Third Avenue and the Bowery. Knox was accompanied by George Clinton, the governor of the State of New York, with all the principal civil officers. There they remained until about one o'clock in the afternoon, when the British left their posts in that vicinity and marched to Whitehall." The American troops followed, and

GOVERNOR CLINTON.

5

In May, 1783, a portion of the Pennsylvania troops, lately arrived from the South, marched to Philadelphia, where they were joined by others, and for three hours they stood at the door of the State House, and demanded immediate pay from Congress. St. Clair, then in command there, pacified them for the moment, and Washington soon quelled the mutiny. See page 328.

A great portion of the officers and soldiers had been permitted, during the summer, to visit their homes on furlough. The proclamation of discharge, by Congress, was followed by Washing ton's farewell address to his companions in arms, written at Rocky Hill, New Jersey, on the 3d of November. He had already issued a circular letter (Newburg, June 8th, 1783) to the governors of all the States on the subject of disbanding the army. It was designed to be laid before the sev eral State Legislatures. It is a document of great value, because of the soundness of its doctrines, and the weight and wisdom of its counsels. Four great points of policy constitute the chief theme of his communication, namely, an indissoluble union of the States; a sacred regard for public justice; the organization of a proper peace establishment; and a friendly intercourse among the people of the several States, by which local prejudice might be effaced. "These," he remarks, "are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our independency and national character must be supported." No doubt this address had great influence upon the minds of the whole people, and made them yearn for that more efficient union which the Federal Constitution soon afterward secured.

Great Britain sent to America, during the war, one hundred and twelve thousand five hun dred and eighty-four troops for the land service, and more than twenty-two thousand seamen. Of all this host, not one is known to be living. One of them (John Battin) died in the city of New York, in June, 1852, at the age of one hundred years and four months.

4 Henry Knox, the able commander of the artillery during the Revolution, was born in Boston, in 1740. He entered the army at the commencement of the war. He was President Washington's Secretary of War, and held that office eleven years. He died at Thomaston, in Maine, in 1806.

'Like Governors Trumbull [page 323] and Rutledge [page 310], Clinton, in a civil capacity, was of immense service to the American cause. He was born in Ulster county, New York, in 1739. He was governor about eighteen years, and died in 1812, while Vice-President of the United States. See page 404. Now the South Ferry to Brooklyn.