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He determined to take revenge; and for this purpose, he entered into a negociation with Sir Henry Clinton, to deliver Weftpoint, and the army, into the hands of the British. While General Washington was abfent, he difmounted the cannon in fome of the forts, and took other steps to render the taking of the poft eafy for the enemy.

But by a providential difcovery, the whole plan was defeated. Major Andre, aid to general Clinton, a brave officer, who had been fent up the river as a spy, to concert the plan of operations with Arnold, was taken, condemned by a court martial, and executed. Arnold made his efcape, by getting on board the Vulture, a British veffel, which lay in the river. His conduct has stamped him with infamy; and, like all traitors, he is defpifed by all mankind. General Washington arrived in camp juft after Arnold had made his escape, and restored order in the garrifon.

After the defeat of general Gates in Carolina, General Greene was appointed to the command in the southern department*. From this period, things in that quarter wore a more favourabe aspect. Colonel Tarleton, the active commander of the British legion, was defeated by General Morgan, the intrepid commander of the rifle men.

After a variety of movements, the two armies met at Guilford, in Carolina. Here was one of the best fought actions during the war. G.neral Greene and Lord Cornwallis exerted themselves at the head of their refpective armies; and although the Americans were obliged to retire from the field of battle, yet the British army fuffered an immenfe lofs, and could not pursue the victory. This action happened on the 15th March, 1781. In the fpring, Arnold, the traitor, who was made a brigadier-general in the British service, with a small number of troops, failed for Virginia, and plundered the country. This called the attention of the French fleet to that quarter; and a naval engagement took place between the English and French, in which fome of the Englifh fhips were much damaged, and one entirely disabled

After the battle of Guilford, General Greene moved towards South-Carolina, to drive the British from their pofts in that state. Here Lord Rawdon obtained an inconfiderable advantage over the Americans, near Camden. But General Greene more than recovered this difadvantage, by the brilliant and fuccefsful action at the Eutaw Springs; where General Marian distinguished himself, and the brave Colonel Washington was wounded and taken prisoner.

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Lord Cornwallis, finding General Greene fuccefsful in Carolina, marched to Virginia, collected his forces, and fortified himself in York town. the mean time Arnold made an incurfion into Connecticut, burnt a part of New London, took Fort Grifwold by ftorm, and put the garrifon to the fword. The garrifon confifted chiefly of men fuddenly collected from the little town of Groton, which, by the favage cruelty of the British officer who commanded the attack, loft, in one hour, almost all its heads of families. The brave Colonel Ledyard, who commanded the fort, was flain with his own sword, after he surrendered.

* Note (C)

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The Marquis de la Fayette, the brave and generous nobleman, whose fervices command the gratitude of every American, had been dispatched with about two thousand light infantry, from the main army, to watch the motions of Lord Cornwallis in Virginia. He profecuted this expedition with the greatest military ability. Although his force was much inferior to that of the enemy, he obliged them to leave Richmond, and Williamfhurgh, and to feek protection under their fhipping.

About the last of Auguft, count de Graffe arrived with a large fleet in the Chefapeek, and blocked up the British troops at York town, Admiral Greaves, with a British fleet appeared off the Capes, and an action fucceeded; but it was not decifive.

General Washington had before this time moved the main body of his army, together with the French troops, to the fouthward; and as foon as he heard of the arrival of the French fleet in the Chefapeek, he made rapid marches to the head of Elk, where embarking, the troops foon arrived at York-town.

A clofe fiege immediately commenced, and was carried on with fuch vigour, by the combined forces of America and France, that Lord Cornwallis was obliged to furrender. This glorious event, which took place on the 19th of October, 1781, decided the conteft in favour of America and laid the foundation of a general peace.

A few months after the surrender of Cornwallis, the British evacuated all their pofts in South-Carolina and Georgia, and retired to the main army in New-York.

On the night of the 3d of March, 1783, Major William Crane Captain Thomas Quigley, and fix others, embarked from Elizabeth-Town point in a whale-boat, and proceeded for New-York, where they boarded and took poffeffion of a twenty-four gun fhip, called the Eagle, then lying under the cold battery. This expedition was conducted with fo much gallantry and addrefs, that no opposition was attempted by the crew; on the contrary, every individual fought a place of fecurity; but their endeavours for that purpose were rendered abortive by the unprecedented valour and vigilance of thofe heroic men, who conducted the enterprize.-After having captured three naval captains, and eighteen men, they fecured them on board the floop, which then lay along fide the Eagle, and which was laden with one hundred and nineteen puncheons of Jamaica spirits, moft of the fhips fails, with twelve nine pounders, loaded and mounted, befides mufquets, &c. The floop they brought off, and paffed through the Kills, without moleftation for Elizabeth-Town point; where, having lightened the veffel, they conducted her in triumph to the landing.

The next fpring (1782) Sir Guy Carleton arrived in New-York, and took the command of the British army in America. Immediately on his arrival, he acquainted General Washington and Congrefs, that negociations for a peace had been commenced at Paris.

On the 30th of November, 1782, the provifional articles of peace were figned at Paris; by which Great-Britain acknowledged the independence and fovereignty of the United States of America; and these articles were ratified by a definitive treaty.

Thus ended a long and arduous conflict, in which Great-Britain expended near an hundred millions of money, with an hundred thousand

lives, and won nothing. America endured every cruelty and distress from her enemies; loft many lives and much treasure; but delivered herself from a foreign dominion, and gained a rank among the nations of the earth.

Holland acknowledged the independence of the United States on the 19th of April, 1782; Sweden, February 5th, 1783; Denmark, the 25th of February; Spain in March, and Ruffia in July, 1783.

No fooner was peace reftored by the definitive treaty, and the British troops withdrawn from the country, than the United States began to experience the defects of their general government. While an enemy was in the country, fear, which had firft impelled the colonifts to affociate in mutual defence, continued to operate as a band of political union. It gave to the refolutions and recommendations of congrefs the force of laws, and generally commanded a ready acquiefcence on the part of the state legislatures. Articles of confederation and perpetual union had been framed in congress, and submitted to the confideration of the states, in the year 1778. Some of the states immediately acceded to them; but others, which had not unappropriated lands, hefitated to fubfcribe a compact, which would give an advantage to the ftates which poffeffed large tracts of unlocated lands, and were thus capable of a great fuperiority in wealth and population. All objections however had been overcome, and by the acceffion of Maryland in March 1781, the articles of confederation were ratified, as the frame of government for the United States.

Thefe articles however were framed during the rage of war, when a principle of common fafety supplied the place of a coercive power in government; by men who could have had no experience in the art of governing an extenfive country, and under circumftances the moft critical and embarraffing. To have offered to the people, at that time, a fystem of government armed with the powers neceffary to regulate and controul the contending interefts of thirteen ftates, and the poffeffions of millions of people, might have raised a jealoufy between the ftates, or in the minds of the people at large, that would have weakened the operations of war, and perhaps have rendered a union impracticable. Hence the numerous defects of the confederation.

On the conclufion of peace, thefe defects began to be felt. Each state affumed the right of difputing the propriety of the refolutions of Congress, and the interest of an individual state was placed in oppofition to the common intereft of the union. In addition to this fource of divifion, a jealousy of the powers of Congrefs began to be excited in the minds of people.

This jealoufy of the privileges of freemen, had been roufed by the oppreffive acts of the British parliament; and no fooner had the danger from this quarter ceafed, than the fears of people changed their object, and were turned against their own rulers.

In this fituation, there were not wanting men of industry and talents, who had been enemies to the revolution, and who embraced the opportu nity to multiply the apprehenfions of people, and increafe the popular difcontents. A remarkable inftance of this happened in Connecticut. As foon as the tumults of war had fubfided, an attempt was made to convince the people, that the act of Congress passed in 1778, granting to the officers

of the army half pay for life, was highly unjuft and tyrannical; and that it was but the firft ftep towards the establishment of penfions, and an uncontrolable defpotifm. The act of Congress, paffed in 1783, commuting half pay for life for five years full pay, was defigned to appease the apprehenfions of people, and to convince them that this gratuity was intended merely to indemnify the officers for their loffes by the depreciation of the paper currency; and not to establish a precedent for the granting of penfions. This act however did not fatisfy the people, who fuppofed that the officers had been generally indemnified for the lofs of their pay, by the grants made them from time to time by the legislatures of the feveral ftates. Befides the act, while it gave five years full pay to the officers, allowed but one year's pay to the privates; a distinction which had great influence in exciting and continuing the popular ferment, and one that turned a large share of the public rage against the officers themselves.

The moment an alarm was raised respecting this act of Congrefs, the enemies of our independence became active in blowing up the flame, by 'fpreading reports unfavourable to the general government, and tending to create public diffenfions. Newspapers, in fome parts of the country, were filled with inflammatory publications; while falfe reports and groundlefs infinuations were induftriously circulated to the prejudice of Congrefs and the officers of the late army. Among a people feelingly alive to every thing that could affect the rights for which they had been contending, thefe reports could not fail of having a powerful effect; the clamour foon became general; the officers of the army, it was believed, had attempted to raise their fortunes on the diftreffes of their fellow-citizens, and Congrefs become the tyrants of their country.

Connecticut was the feat of this uneafinefs; although other states were much agitated on the occafion. But the inhabitants of that ftate, accuftomed to order and a due fubordination to the laws, did not proceed to outrages; they took their ufual mode of collecting the fenfe of the stateaffembled in town-meetings-appointed committees to meet in convention, and confult what measures fhould be adopted to procure a redress of their grievances. In this convention, which was held at Middletown, fome nugatory refolves were paffed, expreffing a disapprobation of the half-pay act, and the fubfequent commutation of the grant for five years whole pay. The fame spirit also discovered itself in the affembly at their October feffion in 1783. A remonftrance against the acts in favour of the officers, was framed in the house of reprefentatives, and notwithstanding the upper house refused to concur in the measure, it was fent to Congrefs.

During this fituation of affairs, the public odium against the officers was augmented by another circumftance. The officers, juft before the difbanding of the army, had formed a fociety, called by the name of the Cincinnati, after the Roman Dictator, Cincinnatus, which, it was faid, was intended to perpetuate the memory of the revolution, the friendship of the officers, and the union of the states; and also to raise a fund for the relief of poor widows and orphans, whofe husbands and fathers had fallen during the war, and for their defcendants. The fociety was divided into state focieties, which were to meet on the 4th of July, and with other business, depute a number of their members to convene annually in general meeting. The members of the inftitution were to be diftin

guished

guished by wearing a medal, emblematical of the defign of the fociety, and the honors and advantages were to be hereditary in the eldeft male heirs, and in default of male iffue, in the collateral male heirs. Honorary members were to be admitted, but without the hereditary advantages of the fociety, and provided their number should never exceed the ratio of one to four of the officers or their defcendants.

Whatever were the real views of the framers of this inftitution, its defign was generally understood to be harmless and honorable. The oftenfible views of the fociety could not however fkreen it from popular jealoufy. A fpirited pamphlet appeared in South Carolina, the avowed production of Mr. Burke, one of the Judges of the fupreme court in that ftate, in which the author attempted to prove, that the principles on which the fociety was formed, would, in procefs of time, originate and establish an order of nobility in this country, which would be repugnant to the genius of our republican governments and dangerous to liberty. This pamphlet appeared in Connecticut, during the commotions raised by the half pay and commutation acts, and contributed not a little to spread the flame of oppofition. Nothing could exceed the odium which prevailed at this time, against the men who had hazarded their persons and properties in the revolution.

Notwithstanding the difcontents of the people were general, and ready to burft forth in fedition, yet men of information, viz. the officers of government, the clergy, and perfons of liberal education, were mostly opposed to the unconftitutional steps taken by the committees and convention at Middletown. They fupported the propriety of the measures of Congress, both by conversation and writing, proved that such grants to the army were neceffary to keep the troops together, and that the expence would not be enormous nor oppreffive. During the close of the year 1783, every poffible exertion was made to enlighten the people, and such was the effect of the arguments used by the minority, that in the beginning of the following year, the oppofition fubfided, the committees were difmiffed, and tranquillity reftored to the ftate. In May, the legislature were able to carry several measures which had before been extremely unpopular. An act was paffed granting the impoft of five per cent. to Congrefs; another giving great encouragement to commerce, and feveral towns were incorcorporated with extenfive privileges, for the purpose of regulating the exports of the ftate, and facilitating the collection of debts.

The oppofition to the congreffional acts in favor of the officers, and to the order of the Cincinnati, did not rise to the fame pitch in the other states as in Connecticut; yet it produced much disturbance in Maffachusetts, and fome others. Jealoufy of power had been univerfally fpread among the people of the United States. The deftruction of the old forms of government, and the licentiousness of war had, in a great measure, broken their habits of obedience; their paffions had been inflamed by the cry of defpotifm; and like centinels, who have been fuddenly furprized by the approach of an enemy, the ruftling of a leaf was fufficient to give them an alarm. This fpirit of jealoufy, which has not yet fubfided, and which will probably continue vifible during the present generation, operated with other causes to relax the energy of our federal operations.

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