after year the soldiers had suffered every privation, from lack of money and clothing. Faction had now corrupted the Continental Congress, and the public welfare suffered on account of the tardiness of that body in the performance of its legitimate duties. Continental money had become almost worthless,' and the pay of officers and men was greatly in arrears. The frequent promises of Congress had been as frequently unfulfilled, and the common soldiers had cause to be dissatisfied with the illiberal interpretation which their officers gave to the terms of enlistment. They had asked in vain for aid; and finally, on the first day of January, 1781, thirteen hundred of the Pennsylvania line, whose time, as they understood it, had expired, left the camp at Morristown,' with the avowed determination of marching to Philadelphia, and in person demanding justice from the national legislature. General Wayne' was in command of the Pennsylvania troops, and was much beloved by them. He exerted all his influence, by threats and persuasions, to bring them back to duty until their grievances should be redressed. They would not listen to his remonstrances; and, on cocking his pistol, they presented their bayonets to his breast, saying, “We respect and love you; often have you led us into the field of battle, but we are no longer under your command; we warn you to be on your guard; if you fire your pistol, or attempt to enforce your commands, we shall put you instantly to death." Wayne appealed to their patriotism; they pointed to the impositions of Congress. He reminded them of the strength their conduct would give to the enemy; they exhibited their tattered garments and emaciated forms. They avowed their willingness to support the cause of freedom, for it was dear to their hearts, if adequate provision could be made for their comfort, and then boldly reiterated their intention to march directly to Philadelphia, and demand from Congress a redress of their grievances.

Finding threats and persuasions useless, Wayne concluded to accompany the mutineers. When they reached Princeton, they presented the general with a written programme of their demands. It appeared reasonable; but not being authorized to promise them any thing, the matter was referred to Congress. That body immediately appointed a commission to confer with the insurgents. The result was a compliance with their just demands, and the disbanding of a large part of the Pennsylvania line, for the winter, which was filled by new recruits in the spring."

1 Page 245. Thirty dollars in paper were then worth only one in silver.

The terms, as expressed, were, that they should "serve for three years, or during the war;" that is, for three years if the war continued, or be discharged sooner if the war should end sooner. The officers claimed that they were bound to serve as long as the war should continue.

3 The head-quarters of Washington were now at New Windsor, just above the Hudson Highlands. The Pennsylvania troops were cantoned at Morristown, New Jersey; and the New Jersey troops were at Pompton, in the same State.

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Page 298. Intelligence of this revolt reached Washington and Sir Henry Clinton on the same day. Washington took measures immediately to suppress the mutiny, and prevent the bad influence of its example. Sir Henry Clinton, mistaking the spirit of the mutineers, thought to gain great advantage by the event. He dispatched two emissaries, a British sergeant, and a New Jersey Tory named Ogden, to the insurgents, with the written offer that, on laying down their arms and marching to New York, they should receive their arrearages, and the amount of the depreciation of the Continental currency, in hard cash; that they should be well clothed, have a free pardon for all past offenses, and be taken under the protection of the British government; and that no military service

On the 18th of January, a portion of the New Jersey line, at Pompton, followed the example of their comrades at Morristown. The mutiny was soon quelled [January 27], but by harsher means than Wayne had employed. General Robert Howe' was sent by Washington, with five hundred men, to restore order. Two of the ringleaders were hanged, and the remainder quietly submitted. These events had a salutary effect. They aroused Congress and the people to the necessity of more efficient measures for the support of the army. Taxes were imposed and cheerfully paid; a special agent, sent abroad to obtain loans, was quite successful,' and a national bank' was established at Philadelphia, and placed under the charge of Robert Morris, to whose superintendence Congress had recently intrusted the public Treasury. To his efforts and financial credit, the country was indebted for the means to commence offensive operations in the spring of 1781. He collected the taxes, and by the free use of his ample private fortune, and his public credit, he supplied the army with flour and other necessaries, and doubtless prevented their disbanding by their own

act.

Let us now turn our attention to events in the South. While half-starved, half-naked troops were making such noble displays of patriotism amid the snows should be required of them, unless voluntarily offered. Sir Henry requested them to appoint agents to treat with his and adjust the terms of a treaty; and, not doubting the success of his plans, he went to Staten Island himself, with a large body of troops, to act as circumstances might require. Like his masters at home, he entirely misapprehended the spirit and the incentives to action of the American soldiers. They were not mercenary-not soldiers by profession, fighting merely for hire. The protection of their homes, their wives and little ones, and the defense of holy principles, which their general intelligence understood and appreciated, formed the motive-power and the bond of union of the American army; and the soldier's money stipend was the least attractive of all the inducements which urged him to take up arms. Yet as it was necessary to his comfort, and even his existence, the want of it afforded a just pretext for the assumption of powers delegated to a few. The mutiny was a democratic movement; and, while the patriot felt justified in using his weapons to redress grievances, he still looked with horror upon the armed oppressors of his country, and regarded the act and stain of treason, under any circumstances, as worse than the infliction of death. Clinton's proposals were, therefore, rejected with disdain. "See, comrades," said one of the leaders, "he takes us for traitors. Let us show him that the American army can furnish but one Arnold, and that America has no truer friends than we." They immediately seized the emissaries, who, being delivered, with Clinton's papers, into the hands of Wayne, were tried and executed as spies, and the reward which had been offered for their apprehension was tendered to the mutineers who seized them. They sealed the ple 1 of their patriotism by nobly refusing it, saying, "Necessity wrung from us the act of demanding justice from Congress, but we desire no reward for doing our duty to our bleeding country!" A committee of Congress, appointed to report on the condition of the army, said, a short time previous to this event, that it was "unpaid for five months; that it seldom had more than six days' provisions in advance, and was, on several occasions, for sundry successive days, without meat; that the medical department had neither sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate, wine, nor spirituous liquors of any kind, and that every department of the army was without money, and had not even the shadow of credit left." 1 Page 292.

* Colonel John Lauren3 [See page 348], a son of Henry Laurens [page 348], had been sent to France to ask for aid. While earnestly pressing his suit, with Vergennes, the French minister, one day, that official said, that the king had every disposition to favor the United States. This patronizing expression kindled the indignation of the young diplomatist, and he replied with emphasis, "Favor, sir! The respect which I owe to my country will not admit the term. Say that the obligation is mutual, and I will acknowledge the obligation. But, as the last argument I shall offer to your Excellency, the sword which I now wear in defense of France, as well as my own country, unless the succor I solicit is immediately accorded, I may be compelled, within a short time, to draw against France, as a British subject." This had the effect intended. The French dreaded a reconciliation of the colonies with Great Britain, and soon a subsidy of one million two hundred thousand dollars, and a further sum, as a loan, was granted. The French minister also gave a guaranty for

& Dutch loan of about two millions of dollars.

'This was called the Bank of North America, and was the first institution of the kind established in this country. 4 Page 264.

of New Jersey, Arnold, the arch-traitor,' now engaged in the service of his royal master, was commencing a series of depredations upon lower Virginia, with about sixteen hundred British and Tory troops, and a few armed vessels. He arrived at Hampton Roads on the 30th of December. Anxious to distinguish himself, he pushed up the James River, and after destroying [January 5, 1781] a large quantity of public and private stores at Richmond, and vicinity, he went to Portsmouth [Jan. 20], opposite Norfolk, and made that his headquarters. Great efforts were made by the Americans to seize and punish the traitor. The Virginia militia men were collected in great numbers, for the purpose; and Jefferson, then governor of that State, offered a reward of five thousand guineas for his capture. La Fayette was sent into Virginia, with twelve hundred men, to oppose him; and a portion of the French fleet went [March 8, 1781] from Rhode Island, to shut him up in the Elizabeth River, and assist in capturing him. But all these efforts failed. He was brave, vigilant, and exceedingly cautious. Admiral Arbuthnot pursued and attacked the French fleet on the 16th of March, and compelled it to return to Newport; and General Phillips soon afterward joined Arnold [March 26], with more than two thousand men, and took the chief command. In April, the traitor accompanied Phillips on another expedition up the James River, and after doing as much mischief as possible between Petersburg and Richmond, he returned to New York. We shall meet Arnold presently on the New England coast."

During the year 1781, the southern States became the most important theater of military operations. General Greene' was appointed, on the 30th of October, 1780, to succeed General Gates in the direction of the southern army. He first proceeded to Hillsborough, to confer with Governor Nash, and other civil officers of North Carolina, and arrived at the head-quarters of the army, at Charlotte, on the second of December. On the following day he took formal command, and Gates immediately set out for the head-quarters of Washington, in East Jersey, to submit to an inquiry into his conduct at Camden, which Congress had ordered. Greene, with his usual energy, at once prepared to confront or pursue the enemy, as occasion might require. He arranged his little army into two divisions. With the main body he took post at Cheraw, east of the Pedee, and General Morgan was sent with the remainder (about a thousand strong) to occupy the country near the junction of the Pacolet and Broad Rivers. Cornwallis, who was just preparing to march into North Car

2 Page 243.

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Page 326.

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1 Page 325. Page 310. General Phillips sickened and died at Petersburg. Lord Cornwallis, who arrived from North Carolina soon afterward [page 338] took the chief command. In a skirmish, a short distance from Petersburg, on the 27th of April [1781], in which Arnold was engaged, he took some Americans prisoners. To one of them he put the question, "If the Americans should catch me, what would they do to me?" The soldier promptly replied, "They would bury with military honors the leg which was wounded at Saratoga, and hang the remainder of you upon a gibbet."

6 Page 340.

Nathanial Greene was born, of Quaker parents, in Rhode Island, in 1740. He was an anchorsmith, and was pursuing his trade when the Revolution broke out. He hastened to Boston after the skirmish at Lexington, and from that time until the close of the war, he was one of the most useful officers in the army. He died near Savannah, in June, 1786, and was buried in a vault in that city. His sepulchre can not now be identified. No living person knows in what vault his remains were deposited, and there is no record to cast light upon the question.

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Page 315.

olina again,' when Greene made this disposition of his army, found himself in a dangerous position, for he was placed between the two divisions. Unwilling to leave Morgan in his rear, he sent Tarleton to capture or disperse his com

NathGreus

mand. The Americans retreated before this superior force, but were overtaken at the Cowpens, in Spartanburg district, and compelled to fight. There, well posted upon an eminence, Morgan' and his brave followers turned upon their pursuers. Tarleton was disconcerted by this movement, for he expected to overtake the Americans while on the wing; yet, feeling confident of an easy victory, he quickly arranged his line in battle order. It was now nine o'clock in the morning [January 17, 1781]. At a signal from Tarleton, his advance gave a shout, and rushed furiously to the contest, under cover of artillery, and an incessant discharge of musketry.

1 Page 318.

GENERAL MORGAN

The scene of the battle is among the Thicketty Mountains, west of the Broad River. It was called Cowpens from the fact, that some time before the Revolution, some traders at Camden kept herds of cows in that fertile region.

Daniel Morgan, commander of the famous rifle corps of the Revolution, was born in New Jersey, in 1738, and was in the humble sphere of a wagoner, when called to the field. He had been a soldier under Braddock, and joined Washington at Cambridge, in 1775. He served with distinction in the army of the Revolution, and was a farmer in Virginia after the war, where he died in

1802.

The Americans were prepared to receive them, and combatted with them for more than two hours, with skill and bravery. The British were defeated, with a loss of almost three hundred men in killed and wounded, five hundred made prisoners, and a large quantity of arms, ammunition, and stores. It was a brilliant victory; and Congress gave Morgan a gold medal, as a token of its approbation. Colonels Howard' and Washington, whose soldierly conduct won the battle, received each a silver medal.

COLONEL WASHINGTON.

2

When the battle was ended, Morgan pushed forward with his prisoners, intending to cross the Catawba, and make his way toward Virginia. Cornwallis started in pursuit of him, as soon as he heard of the defeat of Tarleton. He destroyed his heavy baggage, and hastened with his whole army toward the Catawba to intercept Morgan and his prisoners, before they should cross that stream. But he was too late. He did not reach that river until in the evening, two hours after Morgan had crossed. Then feeling confident of his prey, he deferred his passage of the stream until morning. A heavy rain during the night filled the river to its brim; and while the British were detained by the flood, Morgan had reached the banks of the Yadkin, where he was joined by General Greene and his escort. One of the most remarkable military movements on record, now occurred. It was the retreat of the American army, under Greene, from the Catawba, through North Carolina, into Virginia. When the waters of the Catawba had subsided, the next day, Cornwallis crossed, and resumed his pursuit. He reached the western bank of the Yadkin on the 3d of February [1781], just as the Americans were safely landed on the eastern shore. There he was again arrested in his progress by a sudden swelling of the floods. Onward the patriots pressed, and soon again Cornwallis was in full chase. At Guilford Court-house, the capital of Guilford county, Greene was joined [February 7], by his main body from Cheraw,' and all continued the flight, for they were not strong enough to turn and fight. After many hardships and narrow escapes during the retreat, the Americans reached the Dan on the 13th of February, and

1 John Eager Howard, of the Maryland line. He was born in Baltimore county in 1752. He went into military service at the commencement of the war. He was in all the principal battles of the Revolution, was chosen governor of Maryland in 1778, was afterwad United States Senator, and died in October, 1827.

2 William Washington, a relative of the general. He was born in Stafford county, Virginia. He entered the army under Mercer, who was killed at Princeton [page 269], and greatly distinguished himself at the South, as a commander of a corps of cavalry. Taken prisoner at Eutaw Springs [page 338], he remained a captive till the close of the war, and died in Charleston, in March, 1810. In a personal combat with Tarleton in the battle at the Cowpens, Washington wounded his antagonist in his hand. Some months afterward, Tarleton said, sneeringly, to Mrs. Willie Jones, a witty American lady, of Halifax, North Carolina, "Colonel Washington, I am told, is illiterate, and can not write his own name." "Ah! colonel," said Mrs. Jones, "you ought to know better, for you bear evidence that he can make his mark." At another time he expressed a desire to see Colonel Washington. Mrs. Ashe, Mrs. Jones's sister, instantly replied, "Had you looked behind you at the Cowpens you might have had that pleasure." Stung by this keen wit, Tarleton placed his hand upon his sword. General Leslie [page 347], who was present, remarked, "Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe; Colonel Tarleton knows better than to insult a lady in my presence." Page 330.

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