a measure which conceded practically everything for which the Americans had contended and provided for the appointment of commissioners with full powers to treat with the colonies. On March 13, two days after the adoption of these measures, the British government learned of the French treaty and immediately declared war on France.

Lord North now urged the king to call upon Chatham to form a new ministry, but the king flew into a rage and declared that no power in heaven or earth should ever make him stoop to treat with "Lord Chatham and his crew." The king would in all probability have been forced to yield, had not the tragic death of Chatham, who was stricken as he rose to speak on the floor of the House of Lords, removed the necessity. As there was no one else who could take his place, the king insisted that Lord North should continue at the head of the ministry.

Washing

ton's army

at Valley Forge, 1777

1778

The winter of 1777-1778 was one of the darkest periods in the history of the war. Washington's army lay encamped at Valley Forge, where the troops suffered untold hardships and privations. The time was employed by Baron von Steuben in reorganizing and drilling the army and from this time forth its movements showed the benefit of superior discipline and staff organization. Howe's army spent the winter in Philadelphia. In the spring he resigned and was succeeded by Sir Henry Clinton. On the 18th of June the British evacuated Philadelphia. Its capture had proved of little or no benefit to them, as Congress had packed up its belongings in a few wagons and moved to another point. From a strategical point of view Philadelphia was useless, and, as a French fleet under Count d'Estaing was approaching the American coast, Sir Henry Clinton decided to return to New York. He had intended to transport his army by water, but as there was not room on the transports for both the army and the thousands of Tories who had flocked

to Philadelphia, he sent 3000 Tories with their personal effects aboard the fleet, while the army with twelve miles of baggage wagons marched across New Jersey.

Battle of
Monmouth
June 28,
1778

Washington was quick to seize the opportunity to inflict a sudden blow on the retreating army. He had under his command about 15,000 men, which was about the strength of Clinton's army. The attack was made at Monmouth June 28, 1778, but unfortunately Charles Lee had recently been exchanged and restored to his rank in the American army. His treasonable conduct in this battle completely thwarted Washington's well-planned attack, and, had not the latter come forward at the critical moment, the American army would have suffered severely. As it was, Monmouth was a drawn battle. Clinton continued his march to New York. Lee was placed under arrest by Washington and later courtmartialed and suspended from his command.

Sir Henry Clinton shut up in New York

From Monmouth Washington advanced north, crossed the Hudson, and on July 20 stationed his army at White Plains. The positions of the two armies were now the same as in the autumn of 1776, but the Americans were now the aggressors and Clinton was acting on the defensive. During July the French fleet under Count d'Estaing arrived off Sandy Hook and held a conference with two of Washington's aides. As there were only six British ships in the harbor, it was planned for D'Estaing to advance and capture them, but on his pilot's reporting that his two largest ships could not cross the bar which then lay at the mouth of the river, this enterprise was abandoned.

With Washington's approval D'Estaing now undertook to capture Newport with the coöperation of the New England militia. This important post, which the British had occupied since December, 1776, had been a thorn in the side of New England, and the militia now turned out in large numbers.

Attempt to

take New

port from

the British,

1778

Newport was garrisoned with 6000 men. It seemed, therefore, a comparatively easy matter for D'Estaing's fleet with 4000 French regulars and Sullivan's army of New England militia, reënforced by 1500 regulars from Washington's army under Greene and Lafayette, 9000 Americans in all, to capture it. Sullivan occupied Butt's Hill at the northern extremity of the island and everything was progressing satisfactorily when Lord Howe arrived with his fleet. D'Estaing reëmbarked his troops and put out to sea. Two days later while the hostile fleets were still maneuvering, a terrific storm came up which so damaged the French ships that D'Estaing decided to go to Boston for repairs, and the New England militia dispersed, greatly to their chagrin.

Tories raid

the Con

1779

Monmouth was the last important battle fought in the north. Sir Henry Clinton was hemmed in at New York by Washington's army, which extended in a semicircle from northern New Jersey through the Highlands below West Point to Danbury, Con- necticut necticut. The Tories made frequent raids from coast, July, the British lines into New Jersey or up the Hudson, and in July, 1779, a large body of them under Governor Tryon raided the Connecticut coast, burning Fairfield and Norwalk, and destroying the shipping in New Haven Harbor. West Point had been very strongly fortified and was the key to the American position. Lower down the river the Americans had fortified Stony Point on the west bank and Verplank's Point on the opposite bank. On May 31, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton captured and garrisoned Stony Point. Early on the morning of July 16 Anthony Wayne caried this position by storm. On August 18 Major Henry Lee, familiarly known as "Light-Horse Harry," with a small force of picked men stormed the fort at Paulus Hook on the present site of Jersey City and captured the garrison,

Stony Point
captured by

Anthony
Wayne,
July 16,

1779

but retired under fire of the ships in the river. These two daring exploits were not of very much importance from a military point of view, but they were a great encouragement to the Americans and caused corresponding depression among the British.

By the Quebec Act of 1774 the territory lying between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers was annexed to the province of Quebec, and soon after the beginning of the Revolution Colonel

Conditions

on the west- Hamilton, the

ern frontier

British com

mander at Detroit, un-
dertook to organize the
Indians of the northwest
for an attack on the
settlers south and east of
the Ohio River. But his
plans were thwarted by
the foresight of a young
Virginian, George Rogers
Clark, one of the early
settlers in
in Kentucky,
who, counting on the sup-
port of the French in-
habitants, was convinced
that with a small force he

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK.

could take possession of this territory. Late in the autumn of 1777 he made his way back to Virginia along the Wilderness Road and laid his plans before Governor Henry.

As it was of the utmost importance that the enterprise

Expedition

of George Rogers

Clark, 1778

should be kept secret, the governor did not con

sult the legislature, but after conferring with Jefferson, Wythe, and Madison, he authorized Clark to raise a force of 350 men for the enterprise. Clark immediately proceeded to the neighborhood of

Pittsburg, where he began making enlistments nominally for the defense of Kentucky. By May, 1778, he had succeeded with difficulty in getting together 180 picked riflemen, a flotilla of small boats, and a few pieces of light artillery. With these he proceeded down the Ohio to its junction with the Mississippi and disembarked in what is now southern Illinois. Marching his force over the prairie to Kaskaskia he surprised the garrison and took possession of the town without resistance. With the aid of Father Gibault, a Catholic priest, he succeeded in winning over Cahokia and other neighboring villages.

The capture

cennes,

Feb. 23,

1779

As soon as Governor Hamilton heard of these events he marched from Detroit with a motley force composed of 500 men, regulars, Tories, and Indians, to Vincennes on the Wabash and garrisoned that fort; of Vinbut Clark was not to be outdone. Sending some provisions and a few pieces of artillery around by the Ohio and Wabash, he set out from Kaskaskia in the dead of winter with 130 men, marched for sixteen days in the face of apparently insurmountable difficulties across the drowned lands of Illinois, met his boats just in time to save his party from starvation and despair, and appeared before Vincennes to the utter amazement of the British garrison. The town readily submitted, and after a siege of twenty hours, Hamilton surrendered the fort on February 23. The Northwest Territory was thus secured to Virginia and organized as the "county" of Illinois.

The importance of this brilliant exploit was destined to be far greater than even Clark foresaw, for when the treaty of peace was being negotiated at Paris in 1782, Importance America's allies, France and Spain, were both more of Clark's exploit than willing to sacrifice her interest in order to keep her out of the Mississippi valley, and the western boundary of the United States would undoubtedly have been fixed.