pose. I rely confidently on that Providence, which CHAP. has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me." XXXVII 1775. His acceptance at once changed the aspect of June. affairs. John Adams, looking with complacency upon "the modest and virtuous, the amiable, generous, and brave general," as the choice of Massachusetts, said: "This appointment will have a great effect in cementing the union of these colonies." "The general is one of the most important characters of the world; upon him depend the liberties of America." All hearts turned with affection towards Washington. This is he who was raised up to be not the head of a party, but the father of his country. CHAPTER XXXVIII. PRESCOTT OCCUPIES BREED'S HILL. XXXVIII. 1775. JUNE 16-17, 1775. CHAP. THE army round Boston, of which Washington in person was soon to take command, was "a mixed June. multitude," as yet, "under very little discipline, order, or government." The province of Massachusetts had no executive head, and no unity even in the military department. Ward was enjoined to obey the decisions of the committee of safety, whose directions were intercepted on their way to him by the council of war. Thus want of confidence multiplied the boards to which measures were referred, till affairs wore an aspect of chaos. The real strength of the forces was far inferior to the returns. There were the materials for a good army in the private men, of whom great numbers were able bodied, active, and unquestionably brave, and there were also officers worthy of leading such men. But by a vicious system of recruiting, commissions were given to those who raised companies or regiments; and many had crowded themselves into place from love of rank or pay, without experience, spirit, or military capacity. XXXVII. This also led to the engagement of unsuitable men; 1775. and in some cases to false muster-rolls. In nearly June. every company, many were absent with or without leave. No efficient discipline or proper subordination was established. For tents, canvas and sails, collected from the seaport towns, had furnished a small but insufficient supply, and troops were quartered in the colleges and private houses. There was a great want of money and of clothing; of engineers, but above all, of ammunition. The scanty store of powder was reserved almost exclusively for the small arms, and used with great frugality. "Confusion and disorder reigned in every department, which in a little time must have ended either in the separation of the army, or fatal contests with one another." Of the soldiers from the other colonies, the New Hampshire regiments only had as yet been placed under the command of Ward. The arrival of Greene quieted a rising spirit of discontent, which had threatened to break up the detachment from Rhode Island; but some of their captains and many subalterns continued to neglect their duty, from fear of offending the soldiers, from indolence, or from obstinacy. Of the men of Connecticut, a part were with Spencer at Roxbury; several hundred at Cambridge with Putnam, the second brigadier; who was distinguished for bold advice, alertness, and popular favor; and was seen constantly on horseback or on foot, working with his men or encouraging them. The age and infirmities of Ward combined to increase the caution which the state of the camp made imperative. He was unwilling to hazard defeat, and XXXVIII. 1775. CHAP. inclined to await the solution of events from the negotiations of the continental congress. It was sometimes June. even suggested that the Americans could never hold Cambridge, and that they had better go back and fortify on the heights of Brookline. "We must hold Cambridge," was Putnam's constant reply, and he repeatedly but vainly asked leave to advance the lines to Prospect Hill. Yet the army never doubted its ability to avenge the public wrongs; and danger and war were becoming attractive. The British forces gave signs of shame at their confinement and inactivity. "Bloody work" was expected, and it was rumored that they were determined, as far as they could, to lay the country waste with fire and sword. The secretary of state frequently assured the French minister at London, that they would now take the field, and that the Americans would soon tire of the strife. The king of England, who had counted the days necessary for the voyage of the transports, was "trusting soon to hear that Gage had dispersed the rebels, destroyed their works, opened a communication with the country," and imprisoned the leading patriots of the colony. The peninsula of Boston, at that time connected with the main land by a very low and narrow isthmus, had at its south a promontory then known as Dorchester Neck, with three hills, commanding the town. At the north lay the peninsula of Charlestown, in length not much exceeding a mile; in width, a little more than a half mile, but gradually diminishing towards the causeway, which kept asunder the Mystic and the Charles, where each of those rivers meets an arm of the sea. Near its northeastern ter- CHAP. XXXVIII. mination rose the round smooth acclivity of Bunker 1775. Hill, one hundred and ten feet high, commanding both June. peninsulas. The high land then fell away by a gradual slope for about seven hundred yards, and just north by east of the town of Charlestown, it re-appeared with an elevation of about seventy-five feet, which bore the name of Breed's Hill. Whoever should hold the heights of Dorchester and Charlestown would be masters of Boston. About the middle of May, a joint committee from that of safety and the council of war, after making a careful examination, recommended that several eminences between the camp and Charlestown should be cccupied, and that a strong redoubt should be raised on Bunker Hill. The advice was to be followed at the earliest day, after obtaining adequate supplies of artillery and powder. But delay would have rendered even the attempt impossible. Gage, with the three major generals, was forming a plan for extending his lines over Charlestown. To that end, Howe was to land troops on the point; Clinton in the centre; while Burgoyne was to cannonade from the causeway. The operations, it was believed, would be very easy; and their execution was fixed for the eighteenth of June. This design became known in the American camp, and such was the restless courage of the better part of the officers, such the confidence of the soldiers, that it seemed to justify a desire to anticipate the movement. Accordingly, on the fifteenth of June, the Massachusetts committee of safety informed the council of war, |