VII. 1775. CHAPTER and reluctance to burn their houses and property, were motives for this forbearance. Congress, either participating this sentiment, or willing to hazard the consequences, hinted their wishes to the general by suggesting, that, "if he thought it practicable to defeat the enemy and gain possession of the town, it would be advisable to make the attack upon the first favorable occasion, and before the arrival of reinforcements, which Congress apprehended might soon be expected." Another council was called, a month after the above, to consider this suggestion, and again there was a unanimous voice against it. Whatever Washington's own opinion may have been, he was constrained to acquiesce in silence; for it would have been highly imprudent to undertake such an enterprise, while all the officers were opposed to it, and his actual condition demanded concealment from the public. Cannonades and skirmishes. Committee of Congress go to the camp. Occasional cannonades and skirmishes took place at the advanced points on the lines, but the enemy showed no disposition to leave their intrenchments. In fact, they never meditated an attack, unless reinforcements should arrive. General Gage wrote to Lord Dartmouth, that such an attempt, if successful, would be fruitless, as there were neither horses nor carriages for transportation, and no other end could be answered than to drive the Americans from one strong-hold to another. The time was drawing near when it would be necessary to form a new army. The Connecticut and Rhode Island troops were engaged to serve only till the beginning of December, and none beyond the end of that month. The attention of Congress had been called to the subject, and a committee of three members was appointed to repair to the camp, and meet delegates from the New England colonies, for the purpose of devising the most effectual means of continuing, regulating, and supporting the Continental army. Franklin, Lynch, and Harrison were the committee, and they joined the delegates at Washington's head-quarters on the 18th of October. VII. 1775. new army. As the persons constituting this convention were un- CHAPTÉR skilled in military affairs, the plan proposed by General Washington, which had been discussed and matured by a council of officers, was in the main adopted. It was con- Plan of a ceived, that, to give proper security, the American army ought to be numerically twice as large as that of the enemy in Boston. Twenty-six regiments, therefore, were assigned for the new organization, besides riflemen and artillery, each regiment being divided into eight companies. The whole number of men would then by estimate amount to twenty thousand three hundred and seventy-two. Many of those already on the ground, whose term of service was soon to expire, it was hoped would reënlist, and the deficiency was to be supplied by recruits from the country. The delegates supposed that thirty-two thousand men might be raised in the four New England colonies for one year, the period fixed by Congress for all the enlistments. After the convention was dissolved, the committee from Congress continued to sit, and took various other subjects into consideration. The articles of war underwent a revision, and several changes were introduced, which experience had proved to be necessary. Regulations for disposing of prizes captured at sea, for the exchange of prisoners, the employment of Indians, and many local details relating to the army, came under notice, and certain definite rules were agreed upon. When the committee returned to Congress, their proceedings were approved and confirmed. This conference was of great service to the Commanderin-chief. It afforded an opportunity of expressing his sentiments with more freedom and fulness, than he could do by written communications. A system was likewise formed for future operations in which he could confide, as both Congress and the eastern colonies were bound to support the measures agreed upon by their representatives. The next step was to organize the army according to the new arrangement, to appoint the colonels and inferior Articles of war revised, and other re gulations established. VII. 1775. New army to be organized. CHAPTER officers of the several regiments, and issue recruiting orders. This was an affair of great delicacy and embarrassment. It was in the highest degree important to retain as many of the men as possible, who were now in the ranks; and it was soon discovered, that very few would remain, unless they could know beforehand what officers they were to serve under, and could have all their partialities gratified. Local considerations threw many obstacles in the way. Care must be taken, that each colony should have its due proportion of officers, according to the number of men it was expected to furnish; and that their rank should be so adjusted as to suit the caprices of some, and the extravagant claims of others. The task was formidable, but it was at last accomplished, and the recruiting began. Maritime affairs. In addition to the concerns of the army, Washington was obliged to bestow much time and attention on maritime affairs. No public vessels as yet belonged to the continent, nor had Congress made any provision for a naval warfare. While the British troops and the inhabitants of Boston were shut up within the limits of that town, and excluded from a direct intercourse with the country, it was necessary that all their supplies should come to them by water; and the large number of vessels employed in this service suggested the idea of fitting out cruisers in the ports along the coast to capture them. Having no instructions to this effect, yet believing it compatible with the general design of annoying and distressing the enemy, Washington took on himself the responsibility of equipping and sending out armed vessels. Agents were employed in Salem, Beverly, Marblehead, and Plymouth, to procure and fit them out, and they were manned by officers and sailors from the army. His instructions to the captains were precise and guarded; and, that he might seem to act under the authority of his commission, he ordered them to "take command of a detachment of the army, with which they were to proceed on board, cruise against such vessels as were found in the service of the enemy, Է and seize all such as were laden with soldiers, arms, am- CHAPTER munition, or provisions." VII. 1775. schooners fitted out as cruisers. In a few weeks six armed schooners were under sail, cruising in the waters of Massachusetts Bay. Several Armed captures were made, and particularly a valuable one by Captain Manly, consisting of munitions of war. But, on the whole, the first enterprises were not crowned with signal success. Some of the officers proved incompetent, the men mutinied, and the management of the business in its details caused infinite trouble. The system was improved by degrees, other vessels were fitted out, and Congress provided prize-courts and regulations, which resulted at length in the establishment of a Continental Navy. But General Washington was not relieved from this charge, till after the enemy evacuated Boston. One incident illustrative of his character should be here mentioned. Two armed vessels were despatched to the River St. Lawrence, with orders to intercept two brigantines, which it had been understood were to sail from England to Quebec with arms and ammunition. Failing in this object, the captains made a descent upon the Island of St. John's, pillaged the inhabitants, and brought some of them away prisoners. Whether this act was consistent or not with the customary rules of warfare, it was severely reprimanded by Washington, who immediately set the prisoners at liberty, treated them with the greatest kindness, restored all the property that had been taken, and provided the best means in his power to send them back to their homes. * • Mr. Callbeck, President of the Council, and then acting as governor, was among the prisoners who were brought to the camp at Cambridge. In a letter, written by Governor Callbeck at the time of his departure, he said; "I should ill deserve the generous treatment, which your Excellency has been pleased to show me, had I not gratitude to acknowledge so great a favor. I cannot ascribe any part of it to my own merit, but must impute the whole to the philanthropy and humane disposition, that so truly characterize General Washington. Be so obliging, therefore, as to accept the only return in my power, that of my most grateful thanks." Unjustifiable descent up on the Island of St. John's. October. CHAPTER VII. 1775. of Falmouth. October 18. The burning of Falmouth, an act of personal malice and cruel wantonness on the part of a British naval officer, and the threats of the enemy that the same fate The burning should fall upon other seaport towns, produced consternation, and the most pressing requests to General Washington for assistance in powder, arms, and troops. Again he was compelled, by the necessities of his own situation, to withhold the relief so strenuously solicited. His sympathies were keenly affected by their sufferings, and his popularity was jeoparded by the refusal; yet in this case, as in all others, a stern sense of duty subdued his private feelings and fortified his judgment. General Gage recalled. General the British army. When the news of the battle of Bunker's Hill reached the British cabinet, General Gage was recalled, "in order to give his Majesty exact information of every thing, and suggest such matters as his knowledge and experience of the service enabled him to furnish." In the dearly bought victory at Bunker's Hill he had made a discovery, which seems to have been not less astonishing to himself, than mortifying to the ministers. "The trials we have had," said he, in a letter to Lord Dartmouth, "show the rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be." In the opinion of the ministers this intelligence showed likewise, that General Gage had been duped by ill advisers or his own ignorance, and that, either from obstinacy, want of address, or incapacity, he was not competent to the station he occupied. On the 1st of October he was superseded in the command by General Howe. The abilities of this officer were perhaps superior to command of those of his predecessor, but they did not grow by expe'rience in the public estimation. He possessed the advanOctober 1. tage, however, of not having mingled in the exciting events, in which General Gage had acted such a part as to bring down upon him the ill will and reproaches of the people. General Howe was a brother of Lord Howe, who had been slain at Ticonderoga in the last war, and whose memory was ever cherished with warm affection |