It was now three o'clock in the afternoon. When the British column was within ten rods of the redoubt, Prescott shouted Fire! and instantly whole platoons of the assailants were prostrated by well-aimed bullets.' The survivors fell back in great confusion, but were soon rallied for a second attack. They were again repulsed, with heavy loss, and while scattering in all directions, General Clinton arrived with a few followers, and joined Howe, as a volunteer. The fugitives were again rallied, and they rushed up to the redoubt in the face of a galling fire. For ten minutes the battle raged fearfully, and, in the mean while, Charlestown, at the foot of the eminence, having been fired by a carcass❜ from Copp's Hill,' sent up dense columns of smoke, which completely enveloped the belligerents. The firing in the redoubt soon grew weaker, for the ammunition of the Americans had become exhausted. It ceased altogether, and then the British scaled the bank and compelled the Americans to retreat, while they fought fiercely with clubbed muskets. Overpowered, they fled across Charlestown Neck, gallantly covered by Putnam and a few brave men, and under that commander, they took position on Prospect Hill, and fortified it. The British took possession of Bunker's Hill, and erected a fortification there. There was absolutely no victory in the case. Completely exhausted, both parties sought rest, and hostilities ceased for a time. The Americans had lost, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about four hundred and fifty men. The loss of the British from like causes, was almost eleven hundred.' This was the first real battle of the Revolution, and lasted almost two hours.

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Terrible for the people of Boston and vicinity, were the events of that bright and cloudless, and truly beautiful June day. All the morning, as we have observed, and during the fierce conflict, roofs, steeples, and every high place, in and around the city, were filled with anxious spectators. Almost every family had a representative among the combatants; and in an agony of suspense, mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, gazed upon the scene.

Many a loved

1 Prescott ordered his men to aim at the waistbands of the British, and to pick off their officers, whose fine clothes would distinguish them. It is said that men, at the first onset in battle, always fire too high, hence the order to aim at the waistbands.

A carcass is a hollow case, formed of ribs of iron covered with cloth or metal, with holes in it. Being filled with combustibles and set on fire, it is thrown from a mortar, like a bomb-shell, upon the roofs of buildings, and ignites them. A bomb-shell is a hollow ball with an orifice, filled with powder (sometimes mixed with slugs of iron), which is ignited by a slow match when fired, explodes, and its fragments produce terrible destruction. See map on page 235.

Most of the American muskets were destitute of bayonets, and they used the large end as clubs. This is a last resort.

Charlestown, like Boston, is on a peninsula, almost surrounded by water and a marsh. The Neck was a narrow causeway, connecting it with the main. Charlestown was a flourishing rival of Boston, at the time of the battle. It was then completely destroyed. Six hundred buildings per ished in the flames. Burgoyne, speaking of the battle and conflagration, said, it was the most awful and sublime sight he had ever witnessed.

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As the battle took place on Breed's, and not on Bunker's Hill, the former name should have been given to it; but the name of Bunker's Hill has become too sacred in the records of patriotism to be changed.

The provincial Congress estimated the loss at about fifteen hundred; General Gage reported one thousand and fifty-four. Of the Americans, only one hundred and fifteen were killed; the remainder were wounded or made prisoners.

A battle is a conflict carried on by large bodies of troops, according to the rules of military tactics; a skirmish is a sudden and irregular fight between a few troops.

one perished; and there the country lost one of its most promising children, and freedom a devoted champion. Dr. Warren, who had just been appointed major-general, had crossed Charlestown Neck in the midst of flying balls from the British shipping, and reached the redoubt on Breed's Hill, at the moment when the enemy scaled its banks. He was killed by a musket ball, while retreating. Buried where he fell, near the redoubt, the tall Bunker Hill monument of to-day, standing on that spot, commemorates his death, as well as the patriotism of his countrymen.

JOSEPH WARREN.

The storm was not confined to the east. While these events were occurring in New England, the Revolution was making rapid progress elsewhere. Even before the tragedy at Lexington and Concord, Patrick Henry' had again aroused his countrymen by his eloquence, and in the Virginia Assembly, convened at Richmond, on the 23d of March, 1775, he concluded a masterly speech with that noted sentiment, which became the warcry of the patriots, "GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR GIVE ME DEATH!" When, twenty-six days later [April 20], Governor Dunmore, by ministerial command,' seized and conveyed on board a British vessel of war, a quantity of gunpowder belonging to the colony, that same inflexible patriot went at the head of armed citizens, and demanded and received from the royal representative, full restitution. And before the battle of Bunker's Hill, the exasperated people had driven Dunmore' from his palace at Williamsburg [June], and he was a refugee, shorn of political power, on board a British man-of-war in the York River.

Further south, still bolder steps had been taken. The people in the interior of North Carolina, where the Regulator Movement occurred four years earlier, asserted their dignity and their rights as freemen, in a way that astonished even the most sanguine and determined patriots elsewhere. A convention of delegates chosen by the people, assembled at Charlotte, in Mecklenberg county, in May, 1775, and by a series of resolutions, they virtually declared their constituents absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, organized local government, and made provisions for military defense. In South Carolina and Georgia, also, arms and ammunition had been seized by the people, and all royal authority was repudiated.

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While the whole country was excited by the rising rebellion, and on the

Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury, in 1740. He was at the head of his profession as a physician, when the events of the approaching revolution brought him into public life. He was thirty-five years of age when he died. His remains rest in St. Paul's church, in Boston.

Note 1, page 214. 3 Note 1, page 232. Dunmore was strongly suspected of a desire to have the hostile Indians west of the Allegha nies annihilate the Virginia troops sent against them in the summer of 1774. They suffered terrible loss in a battle at Point Pleasant on the Ohio, in October of that year, in consequence of the failure of promised aid from Dunmore. They subdued the Indians, however.

This "Declaration of Independence," as it is called, was made about thirteen months previous to the general Declaration put forth by the Continental Congress, and is one of the glories of the people of North Carolina. It consisted of a series of twenty resolutions, and was read, from time to time, to other gatherings of the people, after the convention at Charlotte.

very day [May 10] when Allen and Arnold took Ticonderoga,' the SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS convened at Philadelphia. Notwithstanding New England was in a blaze of war, royal authority had virtually ceased in all the colonies, and the conflict for independence had actually begun, that august body held out to Great Britain a loyal, open hand of reconciliation. Congress sent [July, 1775] a most loyal petition to the king, and conciliatory addresses to the people of Great Britain. At the same time they said firmly, “We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery." They did not foolishly lose present advantages in waiting for a reply, but pressed forward in the work of public security. Having resolved on armed resistance, they voted to raise an army of twenty thousand men; and two days before the battle of Bunker's Hill [June 15, 1775], they elected GEORGE WASHINGTON Commander-in-chief of all the forces raised, or to be raised, for the defense of the colonies. That destined Father of his Country, was then forty-three years of age. They also adopted the incongruous mass of undisciplined troops at Boston,' as a CONTINENTAL ARMY, and appointed general officers' to assist Washington in its organization and future operations.

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3

General Washington took command of the army at Cambridge, on the 3d of July, and with the efficient aid of General Gates, who was doubtless the best disciplined soldier then in the field, order was soon brought out of great confusion, and the Americans were prepared to commence a regular siege of the British army in Boston. To the capture or expulsion of those troops, the efforts of Washington were mainly directed during the summer and autumn of 1775. Fortifications were built, a thorough organization of the army was effected, and all that industry and skill could do, with such material, in perfecting arrangements for a strong and fatal blow, was accomplished. The army,

1 Page 234.

2 Page 232.

Washington was a delegate in Congress from Virginia, and his appointment was wholly unexpected to him. When the time came to choose a commander-in-chief, John Adams arose, and after a brief speech, in which he delineated the qualities of the man whom he thought best fitted for the important service, he expressed his intenton to propose a member from Virginia for the office of generalissimo. All present understood the allusion, and the next day, Thomas Johnson, of Maryland, nominated Colonel Washington, and he was, by unanimous vote, elected commander-in-chief. At the same time Congress resolved that they would "maintain and assist him, and adhere to him, with their lives and fortunes, in the cause of American liberty." When President Hancock announced to Washington his appointment, he modestly, and with great dignity, signified his acceptance in the following terms: "Mr. President-Though I am truly sensible of the high honor done me, in this appointment, yet I feel great distress, from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service, and for the support of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their approbation. But lest some unlucky event should happen, unfavor able to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in this room, that I, this day, declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with. As to pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that, as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept the arduous employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I desire." * Page 232.

Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam, were appointed majorgenerals; Horatio Gates, adjutant-general; and Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Green (all New England men), brigadier-generals. Page 232.

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fourteen thousand strong at the close of the year, extended from Roxbury on the right, to Prospect Hill, two miles north-west of Breed's Hill, on the left. The right was commanded by General Ward, the left by General Lee. The centre, at Cambridge, was under the immediate control of the commander-inchief.

At the close of May, Congress sent an affectionate address to the people of Canada. They were cordially invited to join their Anglo-American' neighbors" in efforts to obtain redress of grievances, but having very little sympathy in language, religion, or social condition with them, they refused, and were necessarily considered positive supporters of the royal cause. The capture of the two fortresses on Lake Champlain' [May, 1775], having opened the way to the St. Lawrence, a well-devised plan to take possession of that province and prevent its becoming a place of rendezvous and supply of invading armies from Great Britain, was matured by Congress and the commander-in-chief. To

1 Note 1, page 193.

The Congress of 1774, made an appeal To the inhabitants of Quebec, in which was clearly set forth the grievances of the colonists, and an invitation to fraternize with those already in union. 3 Page 234.

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A committee of Congress, consisting of Dr. Franklin, Thomas Lynch, and Benjamin Harrison, went to Cambridge, in August, and there the plan of the campaign against Canada was arranged.

accomplish this, a body of New York and New England troops were placed under the command of Generals Schuyler' and Montgomery, and ordered to proceed by way of Lake Champlain to Montreal and Quebec.

3

Had Congress listened to the earnest advice of Colonel Ethan Allen, to invade Canada immediately after the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the result of the expedition would doubtless have been very different, for at that time the British forces in the province were few, and they had made no prepar ations for hostilities. It was near the close of August before the invading army appeared before St. John on the Sorel, the first military post within the Canadian line. Deceived in regard to the strength of the garrison and the disposition of the Canadians and the neighboring Indians, Schuyler fell back to Isle Aux Noix, and after making preparations to fortify it, he hastened to Ticonderoga to urge forward more troops. Sickness compelled him to return to Albany, and the whole command devolved upon Montgomery, his second in command. That energetic officer did not remain long within his island intrenchments, and toward the close of September, he laid siege to St. John. The garrison maintained an obstinate resistance for more than a month, and Montgomery twice resolved to abandon it. During the siege, small detachments of brave men went out upon daring enterprises. One, of eighty men, under Colonel Ethan Allen, pushed across the St. Lawrence, and attacked Montreal [September 25, 1775], then garrisoned by quite a strong force under General Prescott. This was done at the suggestion of Colonel John Brown, who was to cross the river with his party, a little above, and co-operate with Allen. He failed to do so, and disaster ensued. Allen and his party were defeated, and he was made prisoner and, with several of his men, was sent to England in irons. Another expedition under Colonel Bedell, of New Hampshire, was more successful. They captured the strong fort (but feeble garrison) at Chambly [October 30], a few miles north of St. John; and at about the same time, Sir Guy Carleton, governor of Canada, with a reinforcement for the garrison of St. John, was repulsed [November 1] by a party under Colonel Warner, at Longueil, nearly opposite Montreal. These events alarmed Preston, the commander of St. John, and he surrendered that post to Montgomery, on the 3d of November.

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When the victory was complete, the Americans pressed on toward Mont

Philip Schuyler was born at Albany, New York, in 1733, and was one of the wisest and best men of his time. He was a captain under Sir William Johnson [page 190] in 1755, and was active in the public service, chiefly in civil affairs, from that time until the Revolution. During that struggle, he was very prominent, and after the war, was almost continually engaged in public life, until his de th, which occurred in 1804.

2 Richard Montgomery was born in Ireland, in 1737. He was with Wolfe, at Quebec [page 201], and afterward married a sister of Chancellor Livingston, and settled in the State of New York, He gave promise of great military ability, when death ended his career. See portrait on page 242. Note 8, page 197.

Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut. He went to Vermont at an early age, and in 1770 was one of the bold leaders there in the opposition of the settlers to the territorial claims of New York. He was never engaged in active military services after his capture. He died in Vermont in February, 1789, and his remains lie in a cemetery two miles from Burlington, near the Winooski.

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