Colonel Barton, with "You have made a he stepped ashore.

11. But the pursuers were a little too late. his prisoners, soon landed at Warwick Point. bold push, colonel," said General Prescott, as "Thank you," said Barton, with a bow, "we have done as well as we could."

CHAPTER CV.

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, CONTINUED.-Events in the North.-Approach of Burgoyne.-Murder of Miss McRea.-Attack upon Fort Schuyler.

1. THE movements of Bur-goyne' at the north have been alluded to. He had arrived at Quebec in May of this year, 1777, and while the British troops in the Middle States had been advancing to Philadelphia, he had begun his march by way of the river Sorel and Lakes Champlain and George, toward Albany, where he hoped to meet Colone? St. Leger, who was to come from Lake Ontario, by way of the Mohawk.

2. General Burgoyne was an ambitious, enterprising, and able officer. Fifteen years before, he had been engaged in the wars of Great Britain with the Portuguese and Spaniards, and, during the siege of Boston, he had been for a short time employed there. set out from Canada with more than seven thousand men, beside a considerable body of artillery, and a thousand Canadian volunteers.

He

3. On the 20th of June, he proceeded up Lake Champlain, and landed near Crown Point, where he met some Indians, to whom he made a war speech and gave the hand of friendship. Accompanied by a considerable body of the Indians, he advanced to Crown Point and soon afterward to Ticonderoga.

4. This place was defended by three thousand men, under General St. Clair. At a council of war it was concluded to leave the fort at once; but the British came up with the rear of their army, at Hubbardton, as they were leaving it, and a battle ensued, in which twc hundred Americans were killed, six Lundred wounded, and two hundred taken prisoners.

5. The invading army reached Fort Edward, on the Hudson, July

11. What did General Prescott say to Barton ? His reply?

CHAP. CV.-1. What of General Burgoyne? 2. How had he formerly been engaged? 8. By whom was he joined at Crown Point? 4. How was Ticonderoga defended? What was the loss of the Americans in the engagement at Hubbardton?

MURDER OF MISS McREA.

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30, having destroyed much American property on the road. Here they made a halt, while the troops, especially the Indian allies, ravaged the country. It was at the time these soldiers were quartered here, that the famous murder of Miss McRea, a beautiful and accomplished American lady, took place.

6. She was to have been married soon, to a young Englishman, and he had sent two Indians, whom he considered trustworthy, to guide her across the woods to the place where he was stationed. On their way, the Indians fell into a quarrel which should have the offered reward for transporting her, when, to end the dispute, one of them killed her with his tomahawk.

7. General Schuyler, who had commanded Fort Edward previous to the arrival of Burgoyne, had with him a force of about four thousand four hundred men. On the approach of the enemy, he had annoyed them greatly by felling trees in the roads and destroying bridges; but finding them too strong for him, he had abandoned the fort, and retreated across the Hudson to Sar-a-to'-ga.

8. Colonel St. Leger, with an army of British regulars, New York tories and Indians, had by this time approached Fort Schuyler, at the head of the Mohawk River, where Rome now stands, and laid siege to it. A body of militia, on their way to act in its defence, was ambushed by the Indians, and four hundred of them killed, mortally wounded, or taken. 9. After much skirmishing, and some hotly-contested battles in the neighborhood of the fort, in which victory was alternately on the side of the British and the Americans, General Arnold, who had been sent to the relief of the fort, and who was not wanting in ingenuity, devised a stratagem for drawing off the Indians from St. Leger's army, which so weakened it that he was compelled to raise the siege.

CHAPTER CVI.

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, CONTINUED.-Prog ress of Burgoyne.-Battle of Bennington.-Battle of Stillwater.

1. WHILE Burgoyne, with his army, was at Fort Edward, he learned that the Americans had a considerable amount of military stores and

5. What of the invading army? Who was murdered while the British were at Fort Edward? 6. What was the cause of her murder? 7. Who had commanded Fort Edward? What did General Schuyler do on the approach of the enemy? 8. What of Colonel St Leger? 9. What was done by General Arnold?

provisions at Bennington. With a view to secure them, he sent out Colonel Baum, a brave German officer, with five hundred German troops and one hundred Indians.

2. According to a manuscript order of General Burgoyne's, the number of these Germans was three times as great as has just been stated. But whether there were fifteen hundred or only five hundred, they were not only very clumsy, but very inefficient troops. Their hats and swords alone weighed nearly as much as the whole equipment of a common soldier; and they could scarcely march under their weight. 3. When Colonel Baum, with his troops, was within seven miles of Bennington, he learned that the Americans were strongly entrenched, and were hourly expecting a reinforcement. He therefore halted, sent back information to Burgoyne, and waited for further orders. Burgoyne immediately sent five hundred more German troops to his assistance.

4. But before the arrival of these last, General Stark, with a body of New Hampshire and Massachusetts militia, had determined to attack Colonel Baum in his position. The battle began about three o'clock in the afternoon, August 16, when the Germans were defeated and dispersed, and Colonel Baum mortally wounded.

5. The pursuit of the Americans was checked, for the moment, by the arrival of the reinforcement which Burgoyne had sent; but the latter soon expended their ammunition, and were obliged to retreat with their companions, with a loss of six hundred in killed and prisoners, beside one thousand stand of arms and nine hundred swords.

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6. It is said that in order to animate his soldiers, who were unused to war, General Stark, before the opening of the battle, appealed thus to their sympathies: "My fellow-soldiers," said he, we conquer today, or to-night Mary Stark is a widow." The appeal had effect; the soldiers fought as if in full view of their homes and firesides.

7. General Stark had been in the old French and Indian war, and was once taken prisoner by the Indians. He was also at Bunker Hill and Trenton. He was a brave man and good citizen, and was the last surviving general of the American Revolution. He died at Manchester, in New Hampshire, in 1822, aged ninety-four years.

8. After St. Leger abandoned the siege of Fort Schuyler, he returned to Montreal. Both he and Burgoyne had done their utmost to effect a junction of their troops at Albany, but had been hindered more

CHAP. CVI.-1. Who did Burgoyne send to Bennington? 2. What can you say of the German soldiers? 8. What occasioned Colonel Baum's delay? 4. Describe the attack of General Stark. 5 What of the reinforcement? 6. How did Stark appeal to his soldiers before the battle? 7. Give some account of him. 8. What of St. Leger and Burgoyne?

by the Americans than they expected. The condition of Burgoyne, moreover, was now becoming every day more and more critical.

9. On the 21st of August General Gates arrived at the American camp, Congress, on the 4th, having given to him the command of the northern army. General Arnold also joined them about the same time. Burgoyne, however, continued to advance, it being easier for him to get forward than backward.

9. What of Generals Gates and Arnold?

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10. The two armies met on the 19th of September near Still'-wa-ter, swenty-two miles north from Albany. Here a severe battle was fought for four hours, which was only checked by night and darkness. Both armies, however, had suffered so much that they did not choose to renew the battle next morning. They were in sight of each other till October 7, when a second battle was fought, in which Burgoyne was defeated.

10. Describe the battle at Stillwater. What of a second battle?