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Browsing named entities in George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 8.

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June 23rd (search for this): chapter 1
mery. At a farewell supper, the members of congress all rose, as they drank a health to the commander in chief of the American army; to his thanks, they listened in stillness, for the sense of the difficulties which lay before him suppressed every festal cheer. A kind of destiny has thrown me upon this service; thus Washington announced the cutting stroke of his departure to his wife, whose miniature he always wore on his breast from the day of his marriage to his death. On the twenty third of June, a day after congress had heard the first rumors of the battle at Charlestown, he was escorted out of Philadelphia by the Massachusetts delegates and many others, with music, officers of militia, and a cavalcade of light Chap. XLI.} 1775. June. horse in uniform. I, poor creature, said John Adams, as he returned from this pride and pomp of war, I, worn out with scribbling for my bread and my liberty, low in spirits and weak in health, must leave others to wear the laurels which I h
July 5th (search for this): chapter 1
ming powers of government, opening the ports to every nation, holding the king's officers as hostages and modelling a general constitution. Such was the counsel of John Adams. Franklin also knew that there was no longer a time to negotiate or entreat. In the ashes of Charlestown, along the trenches of Bunker Hill, he saw the footsteps of a revolution that could not be turned back; and to Strahan, the go between through whom he had formerly communicated with Lord North, he wrote on the fifth of July: You are a member of parliament, and one of that majority which has doomed my country to destruction. You have begun to burn our towns, and murder our people. Look upon your hands, they are stained with the blood of your relations! You and I were long friends; you are now my enemy, and I am yours. But Franklin did not attempt to overrule the opinions or defy the scruples of his colleagues, and, after earnest debates, congress adopted the proposal of Jay to petition the king once more
July 6th (search for this): chapter 1
th presents and speeches, to prevent their taking any part in the commotions. Alliances with them were forbidden, except where some emissary of the ministry should have concerted with them acts of hostility, or an offensive league. On the sixth of July, congress set forth the causes July. and necessity of taking up arms. After recapitulating the wrongs of America, they asked in words which Edmund Burke ridiculed as the nonsense of men wholly ignorant of the state of parties in England: heir griefs, and plainly setting forth that the repeal of the laws of which they complained, must go before the disbanding of their army, or the renewal of commercial intercourse. On the same day thanks were addressed to the Chap. XLI.} 1777. July 6. lord mayor, aldermen, and livery of London, for their unsolicited sympathy. North America, it was further said, wishes most ardently for a lasting connection with Great Britain on terms of just and equal liberty; less than which generous minds
John Adams (search for this): chapter 1
ors of the battle at Charlestown, he was escorted out of Philadelphia by the Massachusetts delegates and many others, with music, officers of militia, and a cavalcade of light Chap. XLI.} 1775. June. horse in uniform. I, poor creature, said John Adams, as he returned from this pride and pomp of war, I, worn out with scribbling for my bread and my liberty, low in spirits and weak in health, must leave others to wear the laurels which I have sown; others to eat the bread which I have earned. oved, and not before. So firm a declaration should have been followed by assuming powers of government, opening the ports to every nation, holding the king's officers as hostages and modelling a general constitution. Such was the counsel of John Adams. Franklin also knew that there was no longer a time to negotiate or entreat. In the ashes of Charlestown, along the trenches of Bunker Hill, he saw the footsteps of a revolution that could not be turned back; and to Strahan, the go between th
25th (search for this): chapter 1
and embark on a wide ocean, boundless in its prospect, and in which perhaps no safe harbor is to be found. He went forth not to eat the bread, still less to wear the honors of others, but to hazard his fame and life in the command of an army which had neither discipline, nor permanency, nor proper arms, nor ammunition, nor funds for its support, nor experienced officers; encouraged only by the hope that, by self-sacrifice, he might unbar the gates of light for mankind. On Sunday, the twenty fifth, all New York was in motion. Tryon, the royal governor, who had arrived the day before, was to land from the harbor; and Washington, accompanied by Lee and Schuyler, under the escort of the Philadelphia Light Horse, was known to have reached Newark. As the colony of New York had been enjoined by the general congress to respect the king's government, the governor and the general were both entitled to be received with public honors; but the people intervened to mark the distinction. On t
Abercrombie (search for this): chapter 1
nd of the war, the courage of the insurgents in this battle of the people, and their skill as marksmen, never wore out of mind. The loss of officers was observed to be disproportionately great; and the gloom in the quarters of the British was deepened by the reflection, that they had fought not against an enemy, but against their fellow-subjects and kindred; not for the promotion of civil or religious freedom, but for the supremacy of one part of the empire over another. Those who, like Abercrombie, died of their wounds, wanted consolation in their last hour, for they had no hope that posterity would mark their graves or cherish their memory. On the day of the battle, the continental congress elected its four major generals. Of these, the first, from deference to Massachusetts, was Artemas Ward. Notwithstanding his ill health, he answered: I always have been, and am still ready to devote my life in attempting to deliver my native country. The American people with ingenuous c
Carleton (search for this): chapter 1
depreciating paper money of the several colonies, continental bills of credit to the amount of two millions of dollars were authorized, and the twelve confederated colonies were pledged for their redemption. A code for the government of the continental army was adopted. Two more companies of riflemen were asked of Pennsylvania, that the eight from that colony might form a battalion. The Green Mountain Boys, if they would but serve, were allowed the choice of their own officers; and as Carleton was making preparations to invade the colonies, and was instigating the Indian nations to take up the hatchet against them, Schuyler, who was directed to repair to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, received authority to take possession of St. John's, Montreal, and any other parts of Canada. To the Indians agents were sent with presents and speeches, to prevent their taking any part in the commotions. Alliances with them were forbidden, except where some emissary of the ministry should have con
Indians (search for this): chapter 1
hosen by us; and an American revenue would lighten their own burdens in proportion as they increase ours. Lord North's proposition for conciliation they condemned as insidiously designed to divide the colonies, and leave them nothing but the indulgence of raising the prescribed tribute in their own mode. After enumerating the hostile acts at Lexington and Concord, Boston, Charlestown, and other places, the seizure of ships, the intercepting of provisions, the attempts to embody Canadians, Indians, and insurgent slaves, they closed their statement in words of their new member, Jefferson: These colonies now feel the complicated calamities of fire, sword, and famine. We are reduced to the alternative of choosing an unconditional submission to irritated ministers, or resistance by force. The latter is our choice. We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Our cause is just, our union is perfect, our internal resources are great, and,
Dickinson (search for this): chapter 1
s. But Franklin did not attempt to overrule the opinions or defy the scruples of his colleagues, and, after earnest debates, congress adopted the proposal of Jay to petition the king once more. The second petition to the king was drafted by Dickinson, and in these words put forward Duane's proposal for a negotiation to be preceded by a truce: We beseech your majesty to direct some mode by Chap. XLI.} 1775. July. which the united applications of your faithful colonists to the throne, in punies, by refusing to treat separately and offering to treat jointly, announced their union, which thus preceded their independence. Yet as the king would not receive a document from congress, the petition was signed by the members individually Dickinson, confident of success, was proud of his work. There is but one word in it which I wish altered, said he, and that is—congress. It is the only word I wish should remain, answered Harrison, of Virginia. Having thus owned the continuing sover
John Thomas (search for this): chapter 1
aultless in private life, a patriot from the heart. He was followed by David Wooster of Connecticut, an upright old man of sixty five, frugal of his means, but lavish of his life; by William Heath, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, a patriot farmer, who held high rank in the trainbands and had read books on the military art; vain, honest, and incompetent; by Joseph Spencer of Connecticut, a man past sixty, a most respectable citizen, but, from inexperience, not qualified for councils of war; by John Thomas, a physician of Kingston, Massachusetts, the best general officer of that colony; by John Sullivan, a lawyer of New Hampshire, always ready to act, but not always thoughtful of what he undertook; not free from defects and foibles; tinctured with vanity and eager to be popular; enterprising, spirited, and able. The last was Nathaniel Greene, of Rhode Island, who, after Washington, had no superior in natural resources, unless it were Montgomery. At a farewell supper, the members of cong
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