Cannons at Dawn

by Kristiana Gregory

  Under the separate Anglo-Spanish treaty, England recognized Spanish rule over the colonies in East and West Florida, which the Spaniards had seized during the war. Britain also ceded the islands of Minorca to Spain and Sumatra to the Netherlands, but reclaimed the islands of Saint Kitts and the Bahamas.

  After the Treaty of Paris was finally signed, it took the Redcoats three months to evacuate the United States. This meant the war had ended once and for all. Nine days after the British sailed away from American shores, General Washington invited his officers to Fraunces Tavern in New York City. He wanted to bid them farewell. For some moments he was too emotional to speak.

  Then, filling his glass with wine, he turned to his men and said, “With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.”

  In his memoirs, Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge wrote of that cold December day in 1783: General Knox “turned to the Commander-in-Chief who, suffused in tears, was incapable of utterance but grasped his hand when they embraced each other in silence. In the same affectionate manner every officer in the room marched up and parted with his general in chief. Such a scene of sorrow and weeping I had never before witnessed and fondly hope I may never be called to witness again.”

  That afternoon Washington’s officers escorted him from the tavern to the nearby waterfront. A barge ferried him across the Hudson River to Paulus Hook (present-day Jersey City), and then he journeyed to Annapolis where the Continental Congress was meeting. Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief, ensuring that the new government would not be a military dictatorship.

  Each state, meanwhile, would keep its own militia to protect settlers against Indian attacks and to man forts on the frontier. Now that Americans had gained their independence, they were exploring their new country and moving westward. Four years later — on May 25, 1787 — the Constitutional Convention began deliberating in Philadelphia. The purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation that had been guiding the new government since declaring its independence from Great Britain in 1776. Because George Washington was the hero of the Revolution and had been the American army’s commander in chief, the delegates unanimously elected him to preside over the meetings.

  All through the hot summer, representatives from each state debated issues. They borrowed ideas from the British Bill of Rights, which allowed for jury trials and the right to bear arms, prohibited excessive bail, and banned “cruel and unusual punishments”(torture). They wanted to establish a strong central, or federal, government that would deal with foreign affairs and defense, and regulate relations between the thirteen states. Above all, they were striving for a government with “checks and balances,” unlike countries that were run by a dictator, king, or emperor.

  One of the most controversial issues was slavery in the American colonies. Slaves made up about one-fifth of the population, most of them living in the South. Delegates questioned whether they should be counted with the rest of the citizens or be considered taxable property and not entitled to representation. The Three-Fifths Compromise was adopted, wherein each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person.

  Another contentious topic was slave trade and what should be done about it. Already ten states had abolished it, but Georgia and the two Carolinas were still active in buying and selling humans. It was a profitable business for their economies, so these delegates refused to sign the Constitution if the practice were to be outlawed. So yet another compromise was reached: Congress would be able to ban the importation of slaves, but not for another two decades, in 1808.

  These debates took three years. Finally, in May of 1790 the thirteen states ratified the new Constitution. Not all were happy with every detail. Benjamin Franklin summed up their views, saying why he would accept the document despite disappointments: “There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them…. Thus I consent … to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best.” It was a roundabout way of saying, “Let’s move forward. It’s the best we can do for now.”

  In the first presidential election of 1789, there was no popular vote. Instead, several candidates were chosen by the electoral college, which was a body of representatives from each state. The electoral college then voted unanimously for George Washington as president, with John Adams coming in second as vice president.

  Washington was wistful about coming out of retirement and leaving Mount Vernon, but he felt duty bound to serve his country. He returned to New York City and on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street he was sworn in as the first president of the United States.

  Due to the lack of communication and poor roads, many Americans living in the countryside didn’t learn of these momentous events for several months.

  New York City was the nation’s first capital. So it seemed fitting that the popular Fraunces Tavern was used as offices for the Departments of War, Treasury, and Foreign Affairs. President Washington’s office was also in lower Manhattan, in the same building as the New York Society Library.

  A curious side note about this library: A few months after his inauguration, Washington checked out Volume 12 of the Commons Debates — which had transcripts from Britain’s House of Commons — as well as The Law of Nations by Emer de Vattel. In a huge ledger weighing eighteen pounds, the librarian wrote “President” next to these titles with the date: “October 5, 1789.” But whether on purpose or inadvertently, these books were never returned. More than two centuries passed. When employees at Washington’s home in Mount Vernon learned of the missing volumes they searched the estate but were unable to find them. They did however locate an identical copy of The Law of Nations online for several thousand dollars, and presented it to the New York Society Library in May of 2010. It was 221 years overdue, but the fine of approximately $300,000 (or 208,877 English pounds) was forgiven.

  Washington served two terms as president, finally retiring to Mount Vernon in 1797. He died two years later.

  As an aside, some historians believe that if Benjamin Franklin hadn’t gone to Paris in 1776, Americans today would probably be speaking with a British accent. He was almost seventy years old at the time, but because of his lively personality and optimism, he befriended the French. He was instrumental in securing supplies and money for the Patriots’ cause, and negotiating the Treaty of Paris.

  Some interesting facts from around the world during the American Revolution:

  The first children’s medical clinic opened in London.

  The first torpedo was invented by Captain David Bushnell, who launched it in New York Harbor in 1776. He named it after a torpedo fish — also called an electric ray — because it had a fin capable of killing its prey with an electric jolt.

  Captain Bushnell also developed a submarine called the Turtle, hoping the Patriots could use it for drilling bombs into the hulls of British warships. It looked like a large barrel with room inside for one man. The “driver” could turn a crank for the propeller, but there was only enough air for him to stay under water for thirty minutes. In calm waters it could travel three miles per hour.

  British astronomer Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus.

  The Stars and Stripes were adopted as the flag for America’s Continental Congress.

  Captain James Cook, a British explorer, discovered the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] on his third voyage to the Pacific. He was killed by islanders in a fight over a stolen boat.

  The first hot air balloon was created by French brothers Montgolfier and launched in 1783.

  In Germany, Beethoven’s father presented him as a six-year-old infant prodigy, when really he was almost eight. His first musical works were printed before he turned thirteen.

  American children enjoyed table games such as dominoes, chess, and draughts [checkers]. They also fl
ew kites, jumped rope, played blindman’s bluff, hide-and-seek, marbles, and hopscotch. Girls made dolls from rags and cornhusks.

  A drawing of Thompson’s Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion of the Continental Army.

  A recruitment broadside for the Continental Army, which calls upon “all brave, healthy, able bodied, and well disposed young men…” to join the American f ighting forces.

  The old State House in Philadelphia, pictured here, was later called Independence Hall.

  The Arch Street ferry in Philadelphia carried passengers across the Delaware River.

  A traitor to the Continental Army, Benedict Arnold is shown promising to deliver West Point to the British in this woodcut.

  Continental soldiers built winter cabins to weather the terribly harsh winter of 1779-1780 in Morristown, New Jersey.

  Dispirited American soldiers huddle around a campf ire at Valley Forge.

  Martha Washington visiting the Continental soldiers at their encampment at Valley Forge.

  General George Washington traveled with this elaborate mess kit.

  An engraving showing the marching band of the Continental Army.

  A map of West Point, New York.

  A view of West Point, New York, which lies on the western shore of the Hudson River.

  In July of 1779, a small band of Continental Army soldiers surprised British troops with a night attack at Stony Point, a key ferry dock and a fortified position of the British Army on the Hudson River near West Point, New York. The Americans took Stony Point in a matter of twenty-five minutes.

  An illustration depicting the first meeting between the American General George Washington and the French General Lafayette.

  General Washington is introduced to Comte de Rochambeau, one of the commanders of the French forces, which were allied with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

  In October 1781, the French and American armies combined forces, under the leadership of General George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau, to attack and eventually defeat the British Army, which was commanded by Lieutenant General Cornwallis, at the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia. This was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War, as Cornwallis’s surrender prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the fighting with the Americans.

  The British frigate Sharon is destroyed during the Battle of Yorktown.

  The British signal their surrender to the American forces during the Battle of Yorktown.

  General Cornwallis officially surrenders to the American Army following the Battle of Yorktown.

  A map showing the path the Continental Army took en route to Yorktown, Virginia.

  A map of the United States showing West Point, New York; Morristown, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yorktown, Virginia.

  About the Author

  Cannons at Dawn is Kristiana Gregory’s sequel to The Winter of Red Snow, her first of five Revolutionary War books in the Dear America series. This period of history has always fascinated her.

  “Since a child, I’ve felt a kinship with the Colonial era because several of my ancestors fought in the War of Independence. I walked around the encampment site of Valley Forge many times, and also Jockey Hollow. They’re national parks now with clean restrooms, gift shops, and paved parking lots. While standing inside an air-conditioned visitor’s center, it’s hard to relate to the intense suffering of our soldiers and the camp followers.”

  Writing Cannons at Dawn allowed Ms. Gregory to imagine camp life through the eyes of Abigail Stewart. Abby’s diary is a work of fiction, but many of the events and characters are real, including Benedict Arnold, Mrs. Lucy Knox, and her infant Julia Knox.

  “It was fun returning Martha Washington to the story, for she did indeed join her husband at every winter encampment, often with her maid Oney. I used a lunar calendar so references to a full moon are historical, as are the blizzards and nor’easters, the reports of the aurora borealis, and the mysterious day of darkness throughout New England.

  “One of the best parts about research is exploring historical settings, such as the army encampment sites in Morristown and Valley Forge. In New York City I was enchanted to visit Fraunces Tavern where General Washington said farewell to his officers after the war had ended. This brick tavern built in 1719 is still open for business and now sits among the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan. An editor recently treated me to a very fine lunch there. As I ate pot roast, mashed potatoes, then apple pie, I could just imagine Washington with his officers doing the same that cold December day of 1783.”

  Ms. Gregory has written more than thirty books for young readers, many in Scholastic’s Dear America and Royal Diaries series, including Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie and Cleopatra VII, Daughter of the Nile; she also created the Prairie River series and the Cabin Creek Mystery series for Scholastic. Her first novel, Jenny of the Tetons, which was published by Harcourt, won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for fiction. The Winter of Red Snow and Cleopatra VII were made into movies for the HBO Family Channel.

  In her spare time Ms. Gregory loves to swim, read, hang out with friends, and walk her golden retrievers, Poppy and Daisy. She and her husband live in Boise, Idaho. Their two sons are all grown up.

  Acknowledgments

  For help with research and insight into the camp followers, I’m grateful to Carrie Fellows, Administrator of the Morris County Heritage Commission in Morristown, NJ; and for the writings of John U. Reed, specifically, “Female Followers with the Continental Regiments” and Holly A. Mayer’s book, Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution. Another invaluable resource was the 1830 publication by Joseph Plumb Martin: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier, Interspersed with Anecdotes of Incidents That Occurred Within His Own Observation. A 1995 reprint by Holiday House is titled Yankee Doodle Boy.

  Above all, I am happily indebted to my editor, Lisa Sandell, and my literary agent, Elizabeth Harding, for their encouragement and support.

  Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to use the following:

  Cover portrait by Tim O’Brien.

  Cover background: Storming of Stony Point, 1779 © North Wind Picture Archives, Alfred, Maine.

  Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion, Archive Photos/Getty Images, New York, New York.

  Recruitment Broadside, Everett Collection/Superstock, Jacksonville, Florida.

  Old State House in Philadelphia, North Wind Picture Archives, Alfred, Maine.

  Arch Street Ferry in Philadelphia, Topfoto/The Image Works, Woodstock, New York.

  Benedict Arnold, North Wind Picture Archives, Alfred, Maine.

  Continental soldiers build cabins, Archive Photos/Getty Images, New York, New York.

  Dispirited American soldiers, North Wind Picture Archives, Alfred, Maine.

  Martha Washington visiting soldiers, ibid.

  Washington’s Mess Kit, Division of Armed Forces, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

  Continental Army marching band, The Granger Collection, New York, New York.

  Map of West Point, ibid.

  View of West Point, ibid.

  Battle of Stony Point, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-61396.

  Washington and Lafayette, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-1409.

  Washington introduced to Comte de Rochambeau, North Wind Picture Archives, Alfred, Maine.

  Battle of Yorktown, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-8233.

  Battle of Yorktown, North Wind Picture Archives, Alfred, Maine.

  British frigate on fire, ibid.

  British signal surrender at Yorktown, ibid.

  Cornwallis surrenders, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-5847.

  Maps by Jim McMahon.

  Other books in the

  Dear America series

  Copyright

  While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real peo
ple, Abigail Jane Stewart is a fictional character, created by the author, and her diary and its epilogue are works of fiction.

  First edition, May 2011

  Copyright © 2011 by Kristiana Gregory

  Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

  Cover portrait by Tim O’Brien, © 2011 Scholastic Inc.

  Cover background: © North Wind Picture Archives

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920.

  SCHOLASTIC, DEAR AMERICA, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Gregory, Kristiana.

  Cannons at dawn : the second diary of Abigail Jane Stewart /

  Kristiana Gregory. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (Dear America)

  Sequel to: The winter of red snow.