To this candid and undisguised requisition, that he would put off his armour, and resign his military power the moment that the object of his assuming it should be accomplished, he replied, in the true spirit of the patriot, aware of the danger to which the allusion was directed; and willing to dispel, or assuage all apprehensions of evil, by an explicit avowal of his desire to comply with their requísition. To the flattering address of the Massachusetts Legislature, he thus replied:

"Your kind congratulations on my appointment and arrival, demand my warmest acknowledgments, and will be ever retained in grateful remembrance. In exchanging the enjoyments of domestic life for the duties of my present honorable, but arduous situation, I only emulate the virtue and public spirit of the whole province of Massachusetts, which, with a firmness and patriotism without example, has sacrificed all the comforts of social and political life, in support of the rights of mankind, and the welfare of our common country. MY HIGHEST AMBITION is to be the happy instrument of vindicating these rights, and to see this devoted province again restored to PEACE, LIBERTY and SAFETY."

There seems to have been a constitutional trait of diffidence and modesty in his character; for when the president of Congress communicated his appointment, he is said to have felt great distress from the consciousness that his abilities might prove incompetent to the task. On that memorable occasion, he uttered the following remarkable sentiment :

"But, lest some unlucky event should happen unfavourable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with."

Upon his arrival at the army at Cambridge, Washington found the disorganization so great, as to demand his immediate and exclusive attention, in order to place it on a more systematic and substantial basis; well knowing that without harmony, discipline, and subordination, even strength becomes weakness, and numbers lead to defeat, instead of commanding victory. Although he was mortified to find not only defects in discipline, and an alarming deficiency of ammunition, yet these very evils, by calling up all his energies into action, not only conduced to his own fame, B

but contributed to the ultimate safety of the country, and the immediate success of the American arms. Thus, the very first effort of the military genius of Washington, by being directed to the efficient organisation of the army, demonstrated the wisdom of the choice which Congress had made, in conferring on him the chief command of the continental forces; to which, it cannot be doubted, we were solely indebted for the triumph of our arms, and the final establishment of our independence.

Whatever of military glory beams around the imperishable laurels of Washington, and it is sufficiently brilliant not to want increase, still it must be lamented, that he did not participate in the fame of Breed's Hill, or what is commonly termed the Battle of Bunker's Hill."

To make up for this stroke of ill-fortune, or omission of fortune, Washington devoted himself so assiduously to the blockade of Boston, that the British not only found it impossible for them to harass the surrounding country, or attempt a battle, that they became streightened for provisions, and suffered much from this deprivation, which, owing to the perpetual vigilance of the American commander, they found it impossible to remedy.

But the short terms of enlistment on which the army had been formed, now began to occasion serious embarrassment to the commander, who, the more his desire increased to drive the British from that town, the more his means of accomplishing such an object vanished from his grasp; a disappointment the more mortifying, because public opinion had long been anticipating its reduction, under a false impression of the exaggerated strength of the forces under General Washington, who, as the blockade became further protracted, began to be an object of public censure; indeed the popular clamour against him proceeded so far, as to insinuate aloud, that he was more desirous of prolonging the war, in order to continue his own importance, than to terminate it by a battle, which might consign him to private life. Although not insensible to this unjust censure, yet he could not repel the imputation without exposing the real weakness of the American troops; and he preferred to suffer in his own reputation for the moment, than to injure teh cause of freedom, by disclosing a weakness which might prove fatal to the triumph of whig principles. The conviction of his own judgment against the policy of an

attack, was strengthened by the concurrence of a council of war; fortified by which, he even ventured to disregard the wishes of Congress in favour of an attempt to expel the British forces from Boston.

Although averse to an immediate attack, Washington continued to make gradual approaches towards the town, by erecting fortifications on Plowed Hill, Cobble Hill, and Lechmere's Point; positions considered favorable to present, or ulterior operations: and these approaches having been carried within half a mile of the enemy's works on Bunker's Hill, gave rise to occasional cannonading which drove their floating batteries from their original stations,

Up to this period, the winter of 1775, the professed object of hostilities against Great Britain, had been an accommodation with the royal government, on condition of having the principle of non-taxation without representation, recognised by the mother country. A redress of grievances, not national independence, was the avowed object: it was said to be a war against a corrupt ministry, not against the British Crown. But this fallacy could not long delude the public mind; or blind men of the most doltish perception to the real tendency of a contest, which had assumed an attitude so mortal, inveterate, and exterminating. It was natural, too, that a people who only started for a redress of grievances, should, as they progressed, and felt themselves strong enough for self-government, and powerful enough to vanquish their oppressors, at last turn their thoughts to the subject of national independence, and project the total abolishment of the King's authority, and the royal government. No doubt the most discerning and sagacious politicians foresaw, from the commencement of the collision, that it must ultimately assume the character of Revolution and Independence. No doubt a majority of the great leaders of oppugnation wished, if they did not directly design it to be so; but with the great mass of the people, it wore a more humble, a more just, and a more practicable complexion, in the mere object of guarding the substance of the privilege of representation in the Imperial Parliament, by conceding to the Colonies the sole and sovereign right of self taxation; being excluded by local circumstances from a representation in Parliament. But open and avowed measures for the establishment of a government independent of the mother country were now adopted.

MASSACHUSETTS and VIRGINIA were the first to open the path to this arduous and dangerous enterprise, by making application to Congress for advice as to the best mode of conducting their affairs, under existing revolutionary movements; and other provinces following the example, the question of separation from the mother country naturally arose, in opposition to those who maintained that the connection which formerly subsisted should still be preserved. Governments for the Colonies totally independent of the mother country, were advocated by some, whilst others, more timid, or less inclined to liberty, espoused the restriction of such governments to the continuance of the dispute then pending with Great Britain-thus leaving open a door by which to return into the arms of monarchy and dependence. At this period, indeed, the idea of separation was so little countenanced, that great opposition was made to a resolution granting to New Hampshire even the restricted government to which I have just alluded that is, " during the continuance of the present dispute with Great Britain;" and every endeavour was systematically made to impress on the public mind, that a separation was not intended: an effort which contributed to produce an impression, if not an effect, the very opposite of what was designed.

How far Washington participated at this period in these opinions, or whether he interfered in them at all-to which party he inclined, whether in favour of separation, or of monarchy, I have no means of ascertaining; but it is most probable that he did not anticipate the growth of popular opinion, or attempt to quicken it into maturity in favour of a separation. This conjecture is rendered probable, because it accords with his general reserve, political coolness, passive observation, strict prudence, and lofty habits of dignity, reflection, and acquiescence; for, except in matters of military bearing, his intellect seems rarely to have been quickened to that stage of excitement, which would impel him to take a deep interest in the mere political questions of the day. This conjecture, too, is strictly conformable to his military attitude, which might in some measure forbid a zealous and active espousal either of separation, or prolonged adhesion to the monarchy of Britain.

The siege of Boston was now prosecuted with renewed vigour by Washington. A plan of attack was matured and adopted; and, on the 4th of March, 1776, the American

troops took possession of the heights of Dorchester, from which they poured a heavy cannonade on the besieged. Counteracting movements were made by the British gene-.. ral (Howe) to dislodge the troops of Washington from this position; but the forces of the former being dispersed by a storm, while in their boats, the whole plan of defence was changed; and the English evacuated Boston on the 17th of March, much to the chagrin of the American general, who had projected a scheme of assault upon the town, which he did not doubt, would prove entirely and splendidly triumphant.

The recovery of Boston by the American army constituted an important event in the war; and the whole colonies rang with peals of joy upon the achievement. It was "resolved, that the thanks of Congress, in their own name, and in the name of the thirteen United Colonies, whom they represent, be presented to his excellency General Washington, and the officers and soldiers under his command, for their wise and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of Boston, and that a medal of gold be struck, in commemoration of this great event, and presented to his excellency; and that a committee of three be appointed to prepare a letter of thanks, and a proper device for the medal."

H

The expedition into Canada in 1775, especially that against Quebec, although planned with consummate ability, as far as it respected the military arrangement of the operation, yet proved extremely disastrous to the American arms, notwithstanding the heroic bravery displayed by the Generals, Montgomery, Arnold, and Thomas; who, as soldiers and commanders, performed all that genius, valour, and judgment could accomplish. But the great defect of the plan, was the vast disproportion that existed between the means and the end. The project having originated with Congress, on the avowed expectation of annexing Canada to the thirteen United Colonies, it met with the concurrence of Washington, and has been made to redound to his glory, although fraught with nothing but defeat, disaster, and a useless, or worse than useless, expenditure of lives, money, resources, and credit. The enterprise was altogether too vast, and the scene of its execution too remote, to be justified on any principles, or views, not exclusively military. It was based on an assumption of exaggerated resources in the United Colonies, which not only did not