ineffectual. The Americans were defeated in every encounter; and retreating continually, allowed the British army to come within cannon fhot of Charlestown on the 12th of May. The town was now fummoned to furrender, and the inhabitants would gladly have agreed to obferve a neutrality during the rest of the war, and would have engaged also for the rest of the province. But these terms not being accepted, they made preparations for a vigorous defence. It was not, however, in the power of the British commander at this time to make an attack with any prospect of fuccefs. His artillery was not of fufficient weight; there were no fhips to fupport his attack by land; and General Lincoln advancing rapidly with a fuperior army, threatened to inclofe him between his own force and the town; so that should he fail in his first attempt, certain deftruction would be the confequence. For these reasons he withdrew his forces from before the town, and took poffeffion of two islands called St. James's and St. John's, lying to the fouthward; where having waited fome time, his force was augmented by the arrival of two frigates. With these he determined to make himself mafter of Port Royal, another ifland poffeffed of an excellent harbour and many other natural advantages, from its fituation alfo commanding all the fea-coaft from Charlestown to Savannah River. The American general, however, did not allow this to be accomplished without oppofition. Perceiving that his opponent had occupied an advantageous poft on St. John's island preparatory to his enterprise against Port Royal, he attempted, on the 20th of June to dislodge him from it; but after an obftinate attack, the provincials were obliged to retire with confiderable lofs. On this occafion the fuccefs of the British arms was in a great measure owing to an armed float; which galled the right flank of the enemy fo effectually, that they could direct their efforts only against the strongest part of the lines, which proved impreg nable to their attacks. This difappointment was inftantly fellowed by the lofs of Port Royal, which General Prevoft took poffeffion of, and put his troops into proper ftations, waiting for the arrival of fuch reinforcements as were neceffary for the intended attack on Charles town. In the mean time, Count d'Estaing, who, as we have already obferved, had put into Boston harbour to refit, had used his utmost efforts to ingratiate himfelf with, the inhabitants of that city. Zealous alfo in the cause of his master, he had published a proclamation to be difperfed through Canada, inviting the people to return to their ori ginal friendship with France, and delaring that all who renounced their allegiance to Great Britain fhould certainly find a protector in the king of France. All his endeavours, however, proved infufficient at this time to produce any revolution, or even to form a party of any confequence among the Canadians. As foon as the French admiral had refitted his fleet, he took the opportunity, while that of admiral Byron had been shattered by a ftorm, of failing to the Weft Indies. During his operations there, the Americans having reprefented his conduct as totally unferviceable to them, he received orders from Europe to affift the colonies with all poffible speed. In compliance with thefe orders, he directed his courfe towards Georgia, with a design to recover that province out of the hands of the enemy, and to put it, as well as South Carolina, in fuch a pofture of defence as would effectually fecure them from any future attack. This feemed to be an eafy matter, from the little force with which he knew he should be oppofed; and the next object in contemplation was no less than the destruction of the British fleet and army at New York, and their total expulfion from the continent of America. Full of these hopes, the French commander arrived off the coast of Georgia with a fleet of twenty-two fail of the line and ten large frigates. His arrival was fo little expected, that several veffels laden with provifions and military ftores fell into his hands: the Experiment alfo, a veffel of fifty guns, commanded by Sir James Wallace, was taken after a ftout refiftance. On the continent, the British troops were divided. General Prevolt, with an inconfiderable part, remained at Savannah; but the main force was under Colonel Maitland at Port Royal. On the first appearance of the French fleet, an exprefs was dispatched to Colonel Maitland: but it was intercepted by the enemy; fo that before he could fet out in order to join the commander in chief, the Americans had fecured most of the paffes by land, while the French fleet effectually blocked up the paffage by fea. But by taking advantage of creeks and inlets, and marching over land, he arrived juft in time to relieve Savannah. D'Estaing, after making a gafconade of what had happened at St. Vincent's and Grenada, had allowed General Prevoft twenty-four hours to deliberate whether he fhould capitulate or not. This time the general employed in making the best preparations he could for a defence; and during this time it was that Colonel Maitland arrived. D'Eftaing's fummons was now rejected; and as on this occafion the fuperiority of the eneiny was by no means fo much out of proportion as it had been at Grenada, there was every probability of fuccefs on the part of the British. The garrifon now confifted of three thousand men, all of approved valour and experience, while the united force of the French and Ameri Americans did not amount to ten thousand. The event was answerable to the expectations of the British general. Having the advantage of a ftrong fortification and excellent engineers, the fire of the allies made fo little impreffion, that D'Eftaing refolved to bombard the town, and a battery of nine mortars was erected for the purpose. This produced a request from General Prevoft, that the women and children might be allowed to retire to a place of fafety. But the allied commanders refufed to comply; and they refolved to give a general affault. This was accordingly attempted on the 9th of October: but the affailants were every where repulfed with fuch flaughter, that twelve hundred were killed and wounded; among the former were Count Polaski, and among the latter was D'Estaing himself. This difafter entirely overthrew the fanguine hopes of the Americans and French; mutual reproaches and animofities took place in the most violent degree; and after waiting eight days longer, both parties prepared for a retreat; the French to their shipping, and the Americans into Carolina. While the allies were thus unfuccefsfully employed in the southern colonies, their antagonifts were no lefs affiduous in distressing them in the northern parts. Sir George Collier was fent with a fleet, carrying on board General Matthews, with a body of land forces, into the province of Virginia. Their firft attempt was on the town of Portsmouth; where, though the enemy had deftroyed fome fhips of great value, the British troops arrived in time to fave a great number of others. On this occafion about one hundred and twenty veffels of different fizes were burnt, and twenty carried off; and an immenfe quantity of provifions defigned for the ufe of General Washington's army was either deftroyed or carried off, together with a great variety of naval and military ftores. The fleet and army returned with little or no lofs to New York. The fuccefs with which this expedition was attended, foon gave encouragement to attempt another. The Americans had for fome time been employed in the erection of two strong forts on the river; the one at Verplanks Neck on the east, and the other at Stoney Point on the weft fide. Thefe when completed would have been of the utmost fer. vice to the Americans, as commanding the principal pafs, called the King's Ferry, between the northern and fouthern colonies. At prefent however, they were not in a condition to make any effectual defence; and it was therefore determined to attack them before the work should be completed. The force employed on this occafion was divided into two bodies; one of which directed its course against Verplanks, and the other against Stoney Point. The former was commanded by General Vaughan, Vaughan, the latter by General Pattifon, while the fhipping was under the direction of Sir George Collier. General Vaughan met with no refistance, the enemy abandoning their works, and setting fire to every thing combustible that they could not carry off. At Stoney Point, however, a vigorous defence was made, though the garrifon was at laft obliged to capitulate upon honourable conditions. To fecure the poffeffion of this laft, which was the more important of the two, General Clinton removed from his former fituation, and encamped in fuch a manner that General Washington could not give any affiftance. The Americans, however, revenged themselves by diftreffing, with their numerous privateers, the trade to New York, This occafioned a third expedition to Connecticut, where these privateers were chiefly built and harboured. The command was given to Governor Tryon and to General Garth, an officer of known valour and experience. Under convoy of a confiderable number of armed veffels they landed at Newhaven, where they demolished the batteries that had been erected to oppose them, and deftroyed the shipping and naval flores; but they fpared the town itself, as the inhabitants had abftained from firing out of their houses upon the troops. From Newhaven they marched to Fairfield, where they proceeded as before, reducing the town alfo to afhes. Norwalk was next attacked, which in like manner was reduced to afhes; as was alfo Greenfield, a fmall feaport in the neighbourhood. Thefe fucceffes proved very alarming as well as detrimental to the Americans; fo that General Washington determined at all events to drive the enemy from Stoney Point. For this purpose he sent General Wayne with a detatchment of chofen men, directing them to attempt the recovery of it by surprise, On this occafion the Americans fhewed a fpirit and refolution exceeding any thing they had performed during the course of the war. Though after the capture of it by the British the fortifications of this place had been completed, and were very ftrong, they attacked the enemy with bayonets, after paffing through a heavy fire of mufquetry and grape-fhot; and in fpite of all oppofition, obliged the furviving part of the garrifon, amounting to five hundred men, to furrender themselves prisoners of war, Though the Americans did not at present attempt to retain poffeffion of Stoney Point, the fuccefs they had met with in the enterprise emboldened them to make a fimilar attempt on Paulus Hook, a fortified poft on the Jersey fide oppofite to New York; but in this they were not attended with equal fuccefs, being obliged to retire with precipitation after they had made themfelves mafters of one or two pofts. Another Another expedition of greater importance was now projected on the part of the Americans. This was against a poft on the river Penobscot, on the borders of Nova Scotia, of which the British had lately taken poffeffion, and where they had begun to erect a fort which threatened to be a very great inconvenience to the colonists. The armament destined against it was fo foon got in readinefs, that Colonel Maclane, the commanding officer at Penobscot, found himself obliged to drop the execu tion of part of his scheme; and instead of a regular fort, to content himself with putting the works already conftructed in as good a posture of defence as poffible. The Americans could not effect a landing without a great deal of difficulty, and bringing the guns of their largeft veffels to bear upon the fhore. As foon as this was done, however, they erected several batteries, and kept up a brifk fire for the space of a fortnight; after which they propofed to give a general affault: but before this could be effected, they perceived Sir George Collier with a British feet failing up the river to attack them. On this they inftantly embarked their artillery and military ftores, failing up the river as far as poffible in order to avoid him. They were so closely pursued, however, that not a fingle veffel could efcape; fo that the whole fleet, confifting of nineteen armed veffels and twenty-four tranfports, was deftroyed; moft of them indeed being blown up by themselves. The foldiers and failors were obliged to wander through immenfe deferts, where they fuffered much for want of provifions; and to add to their calamities, à quarrel broke out between the foldiers and feamen concerning the cause of their difafter, which ended in a violent fray, wherein a great number were killed. Thus the arms of America and France being almost every where unfuccefsful, the independency of the former feemed yet to be in danger notwithstanding the affiftance of so powerful an ally, when further encouragement was given by the acceffion of Spain to the confederacy against Britain in the month of June 1779. The first effect of this appeared in an invafion of Weft Florida by the Spaniards in September 1779. As the country was in no state of defence, the enemy eafily made themselves mafters of the whole almoft without oppofition. Their next enterprife was against the Bay of Hunduras, where the British logwood-cutters were fettled. These finding themfelves too weak to refift, applied to the governor of Jamaica for relief; who fent them a fupply of men, ammunition, and military ftores, under Captain Dalrymple. Before the arrival of this detachment, the principal fettlement in those parts, called St. George's Key, had been taken by the Spaniards and retaken by the British. In his way Captain Dalrymple fell |
