CHAPTER IV
WASHINGTON THE GENERAL
"I think the rain will soon stop--the sun seems to be breaking through.While we wait for it to clear shall I read about the first battle of theRevolution for the boys?" said Mrs. Parke.
"Now that you've got us as far as the Boston Tea Party, keep right onand finish it up, even if the sun does shine," remarked Jack.
"Don't go through all those meetings and letters that everybodyexchanged with Washington, but skip over to the fight!" requestedGeorge, curling up on the couch, ready and waiting to enjoy the war.
"Then I'll read to you about Lexington and Concord," replied Mrs. Parke,turning the pages of the book till she found the one that recorded theRevolution.
"'Great Britain took arbitrary measures with the American colonists, andwhen Boston stood upon the rights of an independent colony, she wasimmediately punished by having the government removed to Salem, and theharbor closed. There were other unfair measures made and acted upon, sothat finally the colonists decided to hold a general assembly atPhiladelphia, to consider ways and means of protecting themselves andproperty.
"'When the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, was issued,the colonists were prepared for it, and hailed it as the first step intheir upward march. About the same time the Earl of Chatham dideverything in his power to make the English Parliament understandcertain things to which they stubbornly closed their eyes and minds; butall intervention and measures for conciliation were of no avail.
"'In this gathering storm no one felt the solemnity of the crisis morethan did George Washington. He had been a loyal subject of GreatBritain, but his sense of justice and right was too true to be blindedby sentiment. Thus he came out firmly for his own country--America.
"'In his many letters and messages sent to every influential personagein England or the colonies, it will be seen that he moved heaven andearth to obtain honorable rights to the colonists without resorting toforce. But the individuals holding the reins of government refused torecognize or think of any other result from this outbreak thansuppression by might and power of the human will.
"'Thus it came about that every separate colony in the country cametogether and formed an unbreakable link of fellowship that would standagainst every force to dissolve or break it.
"'Five of the most distinguished patriots from Massachusetts andrepresentatives from other colonies met in the month of September tooutline rules and acts. General Gage was sent to dissolve this assembly,but the colonists kept the doors locked until the meeting was closed.
"'General Gage had followed instructions and avoided any act which wouldlead to hostilities between his men and the colonists, but feeling thelack of provisions and other necessities, he sent out secret detachmentsto capture what was needed; but the people resented these raids, andoffered every resistance to the pilferers.
"'Having learned that a considerable magazine of stores had been formedat Concord, the governor attempted to seize them. On the night of April18, 1775, he sent 800 picked men under Smith, to secretly confiscatethese supplies.
"'But in some way the colonists had been warned of the proposed raid,and as the British troops marched along the road which they expected tofind almost deserted at that time of night, they were surprised to meethorsemen, and men on foot, hurrying along also. As no one offeredopposition to the soldiers, they never dreamed of trouble.
"'So arriving at Lexington about five o'clock, the troops were surprisedto find about a hundred militiamen drawn up on the green before themeetinghouse.
"'Major Pitcairn galloped up and ordered them to disperse, but theyrefused, so he ordered his men to fire, discharging his own pistol asthe signal. Three or four men were killed and the others retreatedbehind the church.
"'After this skirmish, the opening tragedy of the war, the Britishmarched on to Concord where they soon took possession. Detached partieswere placed to guard various approaches to the town, while the main bodyof soldiers proceeded to destroy the arms, ammunition and provisionsfound in store.
"'But a body of militiamen, having approached the bridge, which wasguarded by a detachment of soldiers, surrounded and fired upon them. Ageneral skirmish took place, and the British retreated with confusion totheir main body in the town.
"'Smith ordered a retreat, but the militia, constantly increasing innumbers, opened a galling fire upon the British, at the same time beingprotected by houses, stone walls and trees.
"'When the British arrived at Lexington, in an exhausted state, theywould have been totally destroyed had not Gage, apprehensive for theexpedition, sent out Lord Percy with sixteen companies on foot, a corpsof marines, and two pieces of artillery to support Smith.
"'This aid checked the first pursuit of the provincials, but the latterkept up an incessant fire upon the British as they marched on their wayto Boston.
"'The news of this event excited every one in Massachusetts, and soonthe whole country was in warlike array. The first blood had been shed bythe British without provocation, and the proud army of England had beenmet by provincial men and made to retreat.
"'The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts was in session at the time ofthis battle at Lexington, and it immediately passed a vote to raise13,600 men. It also called upon the other colonies to increase the armyto 30,000; but this request was unnecessary, as the colonists crowded tothe standard raised in their defence--more than could be maintained.
"'The fortifications of Boston were considered strong enough to resistan attack, and the garrison of the British was increased by the 10,000men who arrived about the same time as Lord North's conciliatorymessage.
"'But the provincials formed a line of thirty miles in extent on thepeninsula where the city stood, thus cutting off all communication withthe country. Surrounding them was the ocean where the British vessels ofwar rode at anchor to protect the troops and, if need be, to reduce thetown to ashes in an hour's time.
"'The British in the besieged city laughed at the foolish attempts tobring them to submission, for had they not everything needed--warmunitions, food stores and everything required for use?
"'On the other side there seemed to be nothing more than a tremendouszeal and willingness to sacrifice all for principle. Untrained men inthe ranks, no arms, no resources for war, no ships or field-pieces--infact, nothing such as the British thought absolutely necessary to win ina fray. Nothing but _Principle_!
"'But the colonists realized what they were standing for, and every manaccepted the work for ultimate salvation from the yoke. Each stood inhis place obedient to his superior, and each chief confined his actionto his own sphere, while all felt the bond of brotherhood in thefurtherance of a grand plan for all.
"'Meantime, while the British were penned up in Boston, Arnold and Allenplanned a brilliant scheme. With a small body of men they proceededagainst the forts of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, the key to Canada.They completely surprised and captured these places without the loss ofa man, thus securing valuable and much-needed supplies of militarystores.
"'Then Arnold was successful against a sloop of war lying at St. John's,and obtained the command of Lake Champlain. This vessel was the veryfirst one to belong to the American navy.
"'In Virginia, much the same spirit animated the people. As soon as warwas apprehended, they solicited Washington to take command of theirtroops, and he readily consented to this.
"'The hasty step of Governor Dunmore, causing the powder to be secretlyremoved from the magazine at Williamsburg to one of his majesty's shipsin the river, caused the whole colony to fly to arms. They resolved tomarch to the Governor and compel him to restore it.
"'Dunmore hastily agreed to arrange the matter as requested, so the menreturned home, but all held themselves in readiness to march at anyfuture alarm.
"'The Second Continental Congress, represented by twelve of thecolonies, met at Philadelphia on the 10th of May, 1775, and at thisconvention Georgia sent delegates and was admitted as the thirteenthmember.
"'The account of hostilities at Concord and Lexington, and the captureof Crown Point and Ticonderoga was laid before the Congress. Themajority of members, seeing no other way to preserve liberty, urged thenecessity of defensive operations.
"'John Hancock, from Massachusetts, was president of the Congress, andthe master stroke of the convention was the election of Washington ascommander-in-chief of the United States forces.
"'The fires of rebellion were now burning steadily in every town andhamlet where patriotic freemen collected, and the launching of the firstand greatest nation of Liberty on the earth was accomplished.
"'June 18, 1775, Washington, now known as General Washington, wrote tohis wife to acquaint her with all that had taken place at the Congress.He explained his duty in accepting the position of general of theAmerican army, and he also mentioned family and personal affairs whichneeded advice.
"'On the 26th of June, Washington proceeded from New York to Cambridge,where he arrived on the 2nd of July. He was welcomed with joyfulacclamations by the men, who felt the greatest hope and success of theirmission safely placed with this general.
"'Washington found the army stationed about Boston to consist of 16,000men, deeply distressed for lack of war munitions, and many of theminsubordinate to officers through lack of military training. Thus itbehooved the general to remedy the latter trouble and seek a means ofproviding for the former.
"'Reinforcements from England had arrived for General Gage, and aboutthe time that the Continental army was told that the possession ofBunker Hill, a commanding eminence on the north side of Charlestownpeninsula, and nearly opposite the British camp, was of greatimportance, the British also realized that the colonists meant business.
"'On the night of June 16th a detachment of a thousand men was orderedto take possession of the hill, and throw up with the greatestexpedition, fortifications to defend the position; but by some mistakethe men took their station on Breed's Hill, another eminence to theright and nearer the enemy's lines.
"'So silently and rapidly did they work that at dawn the British werealarmed to see a redoubt constructed on the brow of the hill, nearlyunder the guns of their vessels.
"'Orders were given to open fire from ships and batteries upon the menand works, but this cannonading only served to stimulate the soldiers'activities and zeal; nor did they cease work until a line of breastworkwas completed from the right of the redoubt to the bottom of the hill.
"'General Gage, finding all efforts to dislodge the men from thisvantage point unavailing, ordered two squadrons under Howe and Pigot, todrive out the Continentals. While the British forces landed and formedon shore, the Americans continued work on the fortifications. TheBritish proceeded up the hill, while constant fire was poured in uponthe colonists and the newly-built works. Orders were given to burnCharlestown lest the provincials find refuge there when they should bedriven from the hill-works. As the town was built of wood, it soonblazed high and covered the surrounding land with its smoke and fire.
"'The terrible spectacle was witnessed by unengaged soldiers, men atcamp, and the now homeless people of the burning town; but the attentionof all was soon engaged in watching the advance of the British army upthe slope to the place where the Americans calmly awaited thedisciplined men.
"'Major Putnam charged his men to withhold fire until they could see"the white of their assailants' eyes," and then fire low. So well wasthis order obeyed that the first volley from the men in the redoubt wasso deadly that the advancing troops reeled, wavered and suddenly turnedto flee. But the courage of the officers rallied the men, and they againcharged up the hill to have the same unerring fire poured into theirmidst. Then their lines broke and they fled precipitately.
"'General Clinton, seeing this defeat from his camp, volunteered to leada fresh company to the aid of the retreating men. The third attack wasmore cautious than the first two had been, and artillery had raked theentire length of the breastworks before the troops reached it. Also, theammunition of the defenders was nearly exhausted, so that they had toreserve their last fire until the enemy was right at the works.
"'This fire was telling, but had not the same effect as at first, andthe redoubt was carried by storm, the Americans dealing death at everystep of retreat, and when the powder was gone they used the butt end oftheir guns to such effect that the redoubt was filled with slain enemy.
"'Although the victory was with the British, they were so dismayed atthe result of the battle that they offered no resistance to the retreatof the Americans, and the latter soon joined their friends.
"'The British hastily threw up defences on Bunker Hill, and theAmericans took a position directly opposite them on Prospect Hill, wherethey built fortifications that nevermore were approached by the enemy.
"'This battle was one of the most destructive and bloody recorded in thewars of the Revolution.
"'News of the fight at Bunker Hill reached Washington as he journeyed onhorseback to Cambridge to take command of the army. The slaughter ofnearly 1,500 men--450 Americans and 1,054 British was omen to the wholeworld that the fight was on to a finish for Liberty and Democracy.
"'When Washington reached Cambridge, Boston was already in a state ofsiege, so that the new commander had his hands full. From his firstheadquarters in the house of the president of Harvard College, he movedthem to Craigie House, later known as the Cambridge residence ofLongfellow.'"
"Oh, look! The sun's out!" shouted George at this point.
"Sure enough! Come on and play! We can read history another rainy day,"abetted Jack, jumping up from the rug.
"Mother, thank you for the story, but we're off now for some fun,"declared Martha, helping Anne to her feet.
The Little Washington's Relatives Page 4
