against Ticonderoga; but were obliged to abandon the enterprife after having surprised all the out-pofts, and taken a great number of boats with fome armed veffels, and a number of prifoners. The army under General Burgoyne, however, continued to labour under the greatest distresses; so that in the beginning of October he had been obliged to diminish the foldiers allowance. On the 7th of that month he determined to move towards the enemy. For this purpose he sent a body of fifteen hundred men to reconnoitre their left wing; intending, if poffible, to break through it in order to effect a retreat. The detachment, however, had not proceeded far when a dreadful attack was made upon the left wing of the British army, which was with great difficulty preferved from being entirely broken by a reinforcement brought up by General Fraser, who was killed in the attack. After the troops had with the most defperate efforts regained their camp, it was moft furioufly assaulted by General Arnold; who, notwithstanding all oppofition, would have forced the entrenchments, had he not received a dangerous wound, which obliged him to retire. Thus the attack failed on the left, but on the right the camp of the German referve was forced. Colonel Breyman killed, and his countrymen defeated with great flaughter and the lofs of all their artillery and baggage. This was by far the heaviest lofs the British army had fuftained fince the action at Bunker's Hill. The lift of killed and wounded amounted to near twelve hundred, exclufive of the Germans; but the greatest misfortune was, that the enemy had now an opening on the right and rear of the British forces, fo that the army was threatened with entire deftruction. This obliged General Burgoyne once more to fhift his pofition, that the enemy might also be obliged to alter theirs. This was accomplished on the night of the 7th, without any lofs, and all the next day he continued to offer the enemy battle; but they were now too well affured of obtaining a complete victory, by cutting off all fupplies from the British, to risk a pitched battle. Wherefore they advanced on the right fide, in order to inclofe him entirely; which obliged the General to direct a retreat towards Saratoga. But the enemy had now ftationed a great force on the ford at Hudfon's River, fo that the only poffibility of retreat was by fecuring a paffage to Lake George; and to effect this, a body of workmen were detached, with a strong guard, to repair the roads and bridges that led to Fort Edward. As foon as they were gone, however, the feemed enemy to prepare for an attack; which rendered it neceffary to recal the guard, and the workmen being of courfe left expofed could not prcceed. H In the mean time, the boats which conveyed provifions down Hudfon's River were exposed to the continual fire of the American marksmen, who took many of them; fo that it became neceffary to convey the provisions over land. In this extreme danger, it was refolved to march by night to Fort Edward, forcing the paffages at the fords either above or below the place; and in order to effect this the more eafily, it was refolved that the foldiers fhould carry their provifions on their backs, leaving behind their baggage and every other incumbrance. But before this could be executed, intelligence was received that the enemy had raised strong entrenchments oppofite to these fords, well provided with cannon, and that they had likewife taken poffeffion of the rifing ground between Fort George and Fort Edward, which in like manner was provided with cannon. All this time the American army was increafing by the continual arrival of militia and volunteers from all parts. Their parties extended all along the oppofite bank of Hudfon's River, and fome had even paffed it in order to obferve the leaft movement of the British army. The whole force under General Gates was computed at fixteen thousand men, while the army under General Burgoyne fcarce amounted to fix thousand; and every part of the camp was reached by the grape and rifle shot of the enemy, befides a discharge from their artillery, which was almoft inceffant. In this ftate of extreme diftrefs and danger, the army continued with the greatest conftancy and perfeverance till the evening of the 13th of October, when an inventory of provifions being taken, it. was found that no more remained that what were fufficient to serve for three days; and a council of war being called, it was unanimously determined that there was no method now remaining but to treat with the enemy. In confequence of this, a negociation was opened next day, which speedily terminated in a capitulation of the whole British army; the principal article of which was, that the troops were to have a free paffage to Britain, on condition of not ferving against America during the war. On this occafion, General Gates ordered his army to keep within their camp while the British foldiers went to a place appointed. for them to lay down their arms, that the latter might not have the additional mortification of being made fpectacles of fo melancholy an event. The number of those who surrendered at Saratoga amounted to five thousand seven hundred and fifty, according to the American accounts; the lift of fick and wounded left in the camp when the army retreated to Saratoga, to five hundred and twenty-eight; and the number of those loft by other accidents fince the taking of Ticonderoga, to near three thoufand. Thirty-five brafs field-pieces, feven thousand stand of 3 Y 2 arm arms, clothing for an equal number of foldiers, with their tents, military cheft, &c. constituted the booty on this occafion. Sir Henry Clinton, in the mean time, had failed up the North River, and destroyed the two forts called Montgomery and Clinton, with Fort Conftitution, and another place called Continental Village, where were barracks for two thoufand men. Seventy large cannon were carried away, befides a number of fmaller artillery, and a great quantity of ftores and ammunition; a large boom and chain reaching across the river from Fort Montgomery to a point of land called St. Anthony's Nofe, and which coft not lefs than feventy thoufand pounds fterling, were partly deftroyed and partly carried away, as was also another boom of little lefs value at Fort Conflitution. The lofs of the British army was but small in number, though fome officers of great merit were killed in the dif ferent attacks. Another attack was made by Sir James Wallace with fome frigates, and a body of land forces under General Vaughan. The place which now fuffered was named Efopus: the fortifications were deftroyed, and the town itself was reduced to ashes, as that called Continental Village had been before. importance they might be, were They ferved only to irritate the But thefe fucceffes, of whatever now difregarded by both parties. Americans, flushed with their fuccefs; and they were utterly infufficient to raise the spirits of the British, who were now thrown into the utmost difmay. On the 16th of March 1778, Lord North intimated to the house of commons, that a paper had been laid before the king by the French ambassador, intimating the conclufion of an alliance between the court of France and the United States of America. The preliminaries of this treaty had been concluded in the end of the year 1777, and a copy of them fent to congrefs, in order to counteract any propofals that might be made in the mean time by the British miniftry. On the 6th of February 1778, the articles were formally figned, to the great fatisfac tion of the French nation. They were in fubftance as follows: 1. If Great Britain fhould, in confequence of this treaty, proceed to hoftilities against France, the two nations fhould mutually affift one another. 2. The main end of the treaty was in an effectual manner to maintain the independency of America. 3. Should thofe places of North America ftill fubject to Britain be reduced reduced by the colonies, they should be confederated with them, or fub- of the West India iflands be reduced by France, they 5. No formal treaty with Great Britain should be concluded either by France or America without the confent of each other; and it was mutu, ally engaged that they should not lay down their arms till the independence of the States had been formally acknowledged. 6. The contracting parties mutually agreed to invite thofe powers that had received injuries from Great Britain to join the common cause. 7. The United States guaranteed to France all the poffeffions in the Weft Indies which fhe fhould conquer; and France in her turn guaranteed the abfolute independency of the Sites, and their fupreme authority over every country they poffeffed, or might acquire during the war. The notification of fuch a treaty as this could not but be looked upon as a declaration of war. On its being announced to the house, every one agreed in an addrefs to his Majefty, promifing to fiand by him to the utmost in the prefent emergency; but it was warmly contended by the members in oppofition, that the prefent miniftry ought to be removed on account of their numberless blunders and mifcarriages in every inftance. Many were of opinion, that the only way to extricate the nation from its trouble was to acknowledge the independency of America at once; and thus we might ftill do with a good grace what muft inevitably be done at laft, after expending much more blood and treasure than had yet been lavished in this unhappy conteft. The minifterial party, however, entertained different ideas. Inftigated by ambition and folly, it was determined at once to resent the interference of France, and profecute hoftilities against America with more vigour than ever, fhould the terms now offered be rejected. The Americans, in the mean time, affiduously employed their agents at the courts of Spain, Vienna, Pruffia, and Tuscany, in order, if poffible, to conclude alliances with them, or at leaft to procure an acknowledgment of their independency. As it had been reported that Britain intended to apply for affiftance to Ruffia, the American commiffioners were enjoined to ufe their utmost influence with the German princes to prevent fuch auxiliaries from marching through their territories, and to endeavour to procure the recal of the German troops already sent to America, To France they offered a ceffion of fuch West India islands as fhould be taken by the united strength of France and America; and hould Britain by their joint endeavours be difpoffeffed of Newfound land, Cape Breton, and Nova Scotia, thefe territories fhould be divided betwixt the two nations, and Great Britain be totally excluded from the fishery. The propofals to the Spanish court were, that in cafe they fhould think proper to espouse their quarrel, the American States fhould affift in reducing Pensacola under the dominion of Spain, provided their subjects were allowed the free navigation of the Miffiffippi, and the use of the harbour of Penfacola; and they further offered, that if agreeable to Spain, they would declare war againft Portugal, fhould that power expel the American fhips from its ports. In the mean time, the troops under General Burgoyne were preparing to embark for Britain according to the convention at Saratoga; but in the interim, congrefs pofitively refufed them permiffion fo to do, having difcovered that fome finifter defigns were harboured on the part of Britain, and that they only wanted an opportu nity to join the other troops at Philadelphia or New York. The feafon for action was now approaching; and congrefs was indefatigable in its preparations for a new campaign, which it was confi dently faid would be the laft. Among other methods taken for this purpose, it was recommended to all the young gentlemen of the colo. nies to form themselves into bodies of cavalry to ferve at their own expence during the war. General Washington at the fame time, in order to remove all incumbrances from his army, lightened the baggage as much as poffible, by fubftituting facks and portmanteaus in place of chefts and boxes, and ufing pack-horses instead of waggons. On the other hand, the British army, expecting to be speedily reinforced by twenty thousand men, thought of nothing but concluding the war according to their withes before the end of the campaign. It was with the utmost concern, as well as indignation therefore, that they received the news of Lord North's conciliatory bill. It was univerfally looked upon as a national difgrace; and fome even tore the cockades from their hats, and trampled them under their feet as a token of their indignation. By the colonists it was received with indifference. The British commiffioners endeavoured to make it as public as poffible; and congrefs, as formerly, ordered it to be printed in all the newspapers. On this occafion Governor Tryon inclofed feveral copies of the bill to General Washington in a letter, intreating that he would allow them to be circulated; to which that general returned for answer a copy newspaper in which the bill was printed, with the refolutions of congrefs upon it. These were, that whoever prefumed to make a feparate agreement with Britain fhould be deemed a public enemy; that the United States could not with any propriety keep correfpondence with of a the |