Portsmouth, Boston, Providence, Middletown, New York, Albany, Pittsburg, Washington, Richmond, Norfolk, Fayetteville, Charleston, Savannah, Augusta, Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Lexington, Louisville, and New Orleans.

The colonisation of North America originated either in the religious persecutions carried on in England against the puritans and other sectaries, or in the visionary schemes of adventurers, who set out to the new world in quest of settlements. It was the former cause which peopled the colony of Virginia; and it was from the latter that the colonies of New England drew their origin; and these, the one in the south and the other in the north, may be considered as the original and parent colonies. They struggled long with the hardships and difficulties incident to all new establishments on remote and barbarous shores; and at times they were so much reduced by sickness and disease, and the attacks of the Indians, that it was resolved to abandon the settlement of the country as impracticable. All these impediments, however, being gradually overcome by patient perseverence and industry, the colonies at last began to flourish, and to increase both in wealth and population. They continued to make a rapid progress in improvement, and in all the arts of civil life, and at the peace of 1763, they had risen to a state of great prosperity. Their flourishing condition at that period was remarkable and striking; their trade had prospered in the midst of all the difficulties and distresses of a war in which they were so nearly and so immediately concerned. Their population continued on the increase, notwithstanding the ravages and depredations that had been carried on by the French, and the native Indians in their alliance. They abounded with spirited and active individuals of all denominations. It was in these circumstances that they became involved in the disputes with the mother country, which ended in their separation, and in their establishment as a confederated republic. The previous war had, as was alleged, been chiefly undertaken by Great Britain on their account. The expences incurred had been great, and it was argued that, according to every rule of equity and reason, the colonies should bear their share of the burden. It was resolved, in short, to tax the American colonies, for the benefit, and at the discretion, of the mother country. In March 1764, a bill was passed, by which heavy duties were laid on goods imported by the colonists from such West India islands as did not belong to Great Britain; at the same time that these duties were to

be paid into the exchequer in specie: and in the same session, another bill was framed to restrain the currency of paper money in the colonies themselves. These acts coming so close upon each other, threw the whole continent into the utmost ferment. Vehement remonstrances were made to the ministry, and every argument made use of that reason or ingenuity could suggest; but to no purpose. The Americans finding all argumentation vain, at last united in an agreement to import no more of the manufactures of Great Britain, but to encourage to the utmost of their power, every thing of that kind among themselves. Thus the British manufacturers also became a party against ministry, and did not fail to express their resentment in the strongest terms; but the ministry were not to be so easily daunted, and therefore proceeded to the last step of their intended plan, which was to lay on stamp duties throughout the continent. Previous to this, indeed, several regulations were passed in favour of the commerce of the colonies; but they had now imbibed such unfavourable sentiments of the British ministry, that they paid very little regard to any thing pretended to be done in their favour; or if these acts made any favourable impression, it was quickly obliterated by the news of the stamp act. The reason given for this act, so exceedingly obnoxious, was, that a sum might be raised sufficient for the defence of the colonies against a foreign enemy: but this pretence was so far from giving any satisfaction to the Americans, that it excited their indignation to the utmost degree. They not only asserted that they were abundantly able to defend themselves against any foreign enemy, but denied that the British parliament had any right to tax them at all. The stamp act, after a violent opposition in parliament, was passed, and its reception in America was such as might have been expected. The news, and the act itself, first arrived at Boston, where the bells were muffled, and rung a funeral peal. The act was first hawked about the streets, with a Death's head affixed to it, and styled the " Folly of England, and the Ruin of America," and afterwards publicly burnt by the enraged populace. The stamps themselves were seized and destroyed, unless brought by men of war, or kept in fortified places: those who were to receive the stamp duties were compelled to resign their offices; and such of the Americans as sided with government on this occasion, had their houses plundered and burnt. The ferment excited by these measures, soon diffused itself through the other colonies, and in the end the stamp act was repealed; and at the same time, by way of maintains

ing the dignity of Britain, a declaratory act was passed, setting forth the authority of the mother country over the colonies, and her power to bind them by laws and statutes, in all cases whatever.

The project of taxing America was, how ever, too much in vogue among a powerful party at home, to be so easily abandoned; and a duty was again imposed on tea, paper, painters' colours, and glass imported into America. The ferment was again renewed by this unjust and impolitic attempt; and it clearly appeared that all America was united against this pernicious project of taxation by the British parliament, where the colonies had no representatives. The provincial assemblies expressed themselves in the boldest and most determined manner; and though dissolved in anger by their governors, they did not in the least abate their vigorous resistance to the bondage that was about to be imposed on them. In many cases they petitioned the crown to remove their governors, for their violent and illegal conduct. At Boston the resistance to the proposed measures was particularly marked, and the populace had expressed their indignation against the new taxes, by attacking the houses of the commissioners of excise, breaking their win dows, destroying the collector's boats; and, by finally obliging the custom-house officers to take refuge in Castle William, situated at the entrance of the harbour. To add to the general alarm, intelligence was spread that a body of troops had been ordered to Boston, to keep the inhabitants in awe. The ferment was now at its height. A convention of the people was summoned, the deputies from which were refused an audience by the governor, and were treated as rebels. The indignation of the Americans was now wrought up to such a height, that throughout the whole province the people began to take up arms; and on the 5th March 1770 a scuffle happened between some soldiers and a party of the town's people, in which some lives were lost. The parliament of Great Britain voted addresses, violently condemning the conduct of the Americans; and at the same time they repealed all the duties, with the exception of tea, by way of conciliating the Americans.

Nothing could have been better calculated to kindle the whole continent of America into a flame, than the weak, wavering, and at the same time arbitrary conduct of the British ministers. Their policy was calculated to exasperate, but not to overawe-to excite among the Americans the united feeling of indignation and contempt. Their speech was full of bluster and menace, but their acts were weak and irreso

lute, neither calculated to conciliate nor to subdue. They reprobated the Americans as rebels, fit only to be crushed by the thunderbolt of sovereign power; and yet they were continually altering their plans to please those rebels, and thus they betrayed their fears. Their attempts at conciliation were in this manner weak and inefficient; they were merely modified contrivances of oppression, in which was left the sting that might yet wound to death the freedom of America. They thus continued blundering through a series of half measures; at one time haughty and cruel, and ready for any extremity; and at another timid and irresolute-frightened at the mischief of their own measures

and anxious, apparently, to retrace their steps-but contriving their schemes so ill, that they clearly evinced not any feeling of benevolence for their oppressed subjects, but their own base irresolution, and fear of consequences.

We cannot enter at length into the various steps by which the whole American colonies were at length so firmly united against Great Britain. It may be generally observed, that the attempt to enforce the duty on tea, aided, like all the others, in provoking the most determined resistance; and the ships which came into the harbour of Boston with this taxed commodity, were entered that very evening by a number of people, disguised like Mohawk Indians, who seized upon the tea, and threw it into the harbour. Various penal enactments were now passed against the town of Boston, for the active share her inhabitants had taken in these transactions, so offensive to the dignity of Britain. Among others, her harbour was shut up, and power was given to the governor to send persons charged with high treason, to be tried in Britain. All these vindictive measures only served more firmly to unite the Americans in their resistance to the mother country; and they now began seriously to prepare for war, by seizing whatever arms, ammunition, or military stores, they could find belonging to the government, by making military musters, and providing themselves with arms. The first blood shed in this fatal quarrel was at Lexington, in Massachusetts. General Gage had fortified the neck of land which joins Boston to the continent; so that his small corps was secure from any attack. From this position he sent out a detachment on the 19th April 1774, to destroy some ammunition and military stores collected at Concord, about 20 miles from Boston, which was accomplished; but in its retreat, this small detachment was continually harassed; and before they made good their retreat to Boston, they lost 250 men in killed and

wounded. The next action was of more consequence. Towards the end of May, general Gage received large reinforcements, along with generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton; and he now resolved to storm the position of Bunker's Hill, which the Americans had strongly entrenched, during the night of the 16th. The fire of the Americans from this well chosen position was dreadful, insomuch that the whole British line recoiled, and left general Howe in advance and alone, all his officers being either killed or wounded. In these circumstances general Clinton advanced to their relief, when the attack was renewed, and the redoubt carried, but with the heavy loss of about 1000 killed or wounded.

The battle of Bunker's Hill, and the heavy loss sustained by the British, in an action with the raw American troops, who had been uniformly spoken of by the ministerial partizans with every epithet of contempt, spread astonishment and consternation in the mother country, and to all men of reflection plainly shewed the delusions which had been practised on the credulity of the people of Britain, in order to tempt them, by the hopes of an easy conquest, into this dangerous war. It was now plain, that they were engaged in a most sanguinary contest, and of doubtful success, which had to be carried on in a country abounding in the most impregnable positions, all of which would be taken advantage of by the army of the country, which would thus compel the invading force always to attack at a disadvantage, insomuch that in the end it would be ruined by its victories. After the battle of Bunker's Hill, the Americans erected fortifications on the heights which commanded Charleston, and strengthened the rest in such a manner that there was no hope of driving them from this position; so that the British troops were shut up in Boston, and reduced to great distress. In the mean time the congress, which had now been assembled, continued to act with all that vigour which had been expected; they agreed upon articles of confederation and perpetual union, and drew up a declaration, justifying their resistance to the mother country. This declaration, which was published and widely spread, was dated 6th July 1775. Conciliatory propositions were now made to the revolted colonies by lord North; but they were rejected, as falling short of their demands; and congress seeing war inevitable, prepared for it with vigour, and appointed George Washington generalissimo of all their armies. They were farther strengthened by the accession of Georgia to the general league.

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Emboldened by the unexpected effect of

their military exertions on their enemies, generals Arnold and Montgomery now attempted the conquest of Canada, having previously taken Crown Point and Ticonderago. They succeeded in taking the fort of Chamblee ; and they advanced to Montreal, which also surrendered at discretion. By an extraordinary march in the middle of November, through woods and morasses, and every impediment, general Arnold reached Quebec; but being unprovided with heavy artillery, he found it quite impracticable to attempt any thing against a town so strongly fortified. After the arri val of general Montgomery, they made a desperate attempt to carry the place by assault, in which, after displaying the highest intrepidity, they were repulsed, and general Montgomery slain.

While hostilities were thus carried on in the north, the flame of contention was extending itself to the southern provinces. In Virginia, the governor, lord Dunmore, was involved in disputes with the people, on grounds similar to those which had caused differences in the other colonies; and, in the end, he was forced to take refuge with his family on board a man of war. He carried on for some time a predatory warfare against the colonies, by landing detachments of troops from the ships, and plundering and burning the defenceless towns; but he was in the end driven off the coast. In the same manner, the governors of North and South Carolina were expelled by the people; and by the end of the year 1775, Great Britain beheld the whole of America united against her in determined opposition, and her possession of the country was reduced to the single town of Boston, where her forces were closely besieged by the troops of her revolted colonies. Such was the state of matters in the year 1775.

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In March 1776, the British in Boston were severely cannonaded by the Americans, and were finally obliged to withdraw their troops from that place. In July was issued by congress the celebrated declaration of independence, by which they renounced for ever, all allegiance to Great Britain. In the course of this season, British being reinforced in Canada, commenced offensive operations against the Americans, who, after various attempts to counteract the plans of the British, were at length entirely driven out of the province of Canada. In South Carolina an unsuccessful attempt was made by the British to reduce Charleston; in the course of which a desperate conflict took place be tween the British naval force and the bat teries erected by the Americans on Sullivan island, six miles east of the town. The British were finally obliged to retreat, with;

out having effected any thing worthy of the great preparations they had made.

An expedition sent against New York, consisting of 6 ships of the line, and 30 frigates, besides other armed vessels, under the command of lord Howe, and a land force under general Howe, which had disembarked from Halifax on Staten island, previous to the arrival of the fleet, was more successful than some of the recent armaments that had been sent against the Americans. The troops were landed on Staten island, where they were joined by some of the inhabitants. About the middle of July, lord Howe arrived with the great armament; and being one of the commissioners, with full powers to settle all differences with the colonies, a negociation commenced, which, like all attempts at peace that had preceded it, proved fruitless, Great Britain still holding to all her lofty pretensions, and offering the Americans par don for the past, by way of concession; while they, on the other hand, spurned at the proffered concession, haughtily replying, that as they committed no offence, they asked no forgivenness, and were only defending their unquestionable rights.

No hope of reconciliation remaining, hostilities commenced as soon as the British troops could be collected. In August they landed on Long island, opposite to the shore of Staten island. General Putnam, with a large body of troops, was encamped in a strong position, with a range of hills between the two arinies. Here he was attacked on the 27th August by the British, and totally defeated, with the loss of between 3000 and 4000 men. On the 29th the American generals resolved to abandon their camp, as another action might involve them in irretrievable destruction, and on the night of the 29th, the whole army was ferried over with the utmost secrecy to the continental shore, out of the reach of farther danger. The execution of this movement, in the presence of a victorious army, while it reflects credit on the American generalship, evinces on the part of the British a want of vigilance and skill, for which it is difficult to account. The clear policy of the conquerors was to pursue their blow, and crush at once the whole American army, without giving it a moment's respite, either for safety or retreat. For this its position was most favourable. It was shut up in an island, cut off from all possibility of escape, and placed in a situation where it must either conquer or perish. In the battle newly fought, the raw levies of America had been crushed by the discipline and valour of the British troops; their retreat was impossible; they were within the grasp of their ene

mies, and their destruction appeared inevitable. But while in this situation, by the inconceivable neglect of their enemies, they were allowed coolly and deliberately to transport their army piece-meal, and by means of ferry-boats, across an arm of the sea, to a place of safety.

Lord Howe Supposing that the Americans would be dispirited by this defeat, made a new effort at negociation. But the American army being by this time in security, his offer was treated with contempt. General Howe afterwards entered the city of New York, from which the Americans retreated; and as the two armies lay within two miles of each other, general Washington, avoiding a general battle, took the opportunity of exercising his troops in constant skirmishing with the British. He was attacked, however, by the British at White Plains, and driveu from his position, but without any serious loss. The British afterwards overrun the Jerseys, and took possession of Rhode island. The American force on the Lake Champlain was also defeated and destroyed by the British; and under all these losses, their main army, under general Washington, began to moulder away; so that out of 30,000, of which it consisted when general Howe landed on Staten island, scarce a tenth could now be mustered. In the mean time, general Washington was indefatigable in his exertions, and effected all that an able general could do under such inanifest disadvantages. On the 27th December he suddenly crossed the Delaware, and attacking the Hessians in their encampment, completely surprised and dispersed their whole corps, taking 1000 prisoners. This seasonable advantage greatly emboldened the Americans, and fresh reinforcements now daily arrived to Washington's camp.

In 1777, the war was commenced with various predatory incursions by the British troops, which produced nothing decisive; and it was the policy of general Washington to act on the defensive, and to avoid any decisive battle, so that no general battle took place for some time between the contending armies. At last an expedition was fitted out by the British against Philadelphia, which they entered, after defeating the Americans on the 26th September. General Washington, who had marched to the defence of this town, now retired towards Lancaster, and prosecuted his system of defensive warfare. He made an attack on the British at Germantown, on which occasion, however, he was repulsed with great loss; and the British general employed the remainder of the season in reducing the forts around Philadelphia,