Part 40

Colonel Tarleton was born in Liverpool, on the 21st of August, 1754, and at first commenced studying law, but, on the breaking out of war in America, he entered the army, and, having arrived in that country, he was permitted to raise a body of troops called the "British Legion," which he commanded in several successful excursions against the enemy. Such was the daring intrepidity, energy, and skill, with which he conducted his corps, that he may be said to have greatly accelerated, if not secured, some of the most important victories under Lord Cornwallis. On his return to England, he was made a colonel, and became so popular that, in 1790, he was returned, free of expense, as a member for Liverpool, which he represented in three subsequent parliaments.

In 1818, previously to which he had been raised to the rank of general, he was created a baronet, and, on the coronation of George the Fourth, was made a K. C. B. He was one of the bravest officers of his time, and is described as having been to the British, in the American war, what Arnold, in his early career, was to the Americans.

SIR PETER PARKER.

Sir Peter Parker, son of Rear-admiral Christopher Parker, was born in 1723, and entered the navy under the auspices of his father. Having served with great reputation on several occasions, in 1775 he hoisted his broad pendant on board the Bristol, of fifty guns, in which he proceeded, with a squadron under his command, to the American station. On account of bad weather and other impediments, he did not reach Cape Fear until May, 1776. In the following month, he made an unsuccessful attack on Charleston, in South Carolina. Shortly afterwards, he joined Lord Howe, the commander-in-chief, at New York, whence he was dispatched, with the Asia, Renown, and Preston, to distract the attention of the enemy, while the army attacked the lines on Long Island. Towards the close of the same year, he proceeded, in command of a small squadron, to make an attempt on Rhode Island, of which he obtained possession without loss. He was now advanced to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue; and, a few months after, appointed to the chief command on the Jamaica station, where he served with signal success until 1782, in which year he returned with a convoy to England. Before his death, which occurred in 1811, he became admiral of the blue and admiral of the white.

SIR WILLIAM MEADOWS.

Sir William Meadows was born in 1738. In 1775, he repaired with his regiment to America, where he distinguished himself, particularly at the battle of Brandywine, during which he was wounded.

In 1792, he served under Cornwallis in India. On returning to England, he was appointed governor of the Isle of Wight, and, afterwards, governor of Hull. He died at Bath, 1813.

As a military man, he was highly distinguished. He was invariably cheerful, during an engagement; and his troops, by whom he was much beloved, are said, on more than one occasion, to have mounted the breach, laughing at their general's last joke. His hilarity scarcely ever deserted him; one day, while on a reconnoitering party, he observed a twenty-four-pound shot strike the ground, on his right, in such a direction that, had he proceeded, it would, in all probability, have destroyed him; he, therefore, stopped his horse, and, as the ball dashed across the road in front of him, gracefully took off his hat, and said: "I beg, sir, that you will continue your promenade; I never take the precedence of any gentleman of your family."

GENERAL GAGE.

General Thomas Gage, second son of Viscount Gage, was born about the year 1721, and entered the army at an early age. Having served with considerable credit, he was commissioned as lieutenant-general; soon after which, (April, 1774,) he was appointed to succeed Mr. Hutchinson, as governor of Massachusetts Bay. In May, he sailed for Boston with four regiments, where, contrary to his expectations, he was received with great ceremony and outward respect.

About this time, serious troubles of the colonies with England began. General Gage took strong and decided measures, and hastened, rather than retarded, an open contest. By his order it was that the military stores at Concord were destroyed, which led to the skirmish at Lexington, and which opened the war.

On the 10th of October, 1775, he resigned his command to Sir William Howe, and departed for England. At the time of his death, which took place on the 2d of April, 1788, he was a general in the army. His talents for command are said to have been respectable.

SIR GUY CARLTON.

Guy Carlton, Lord Dorchester, was born in Ireland, in 1722. In 1748, he became lieutenant-colonel. In 1758, he served at the siege of Louisburg under Amherst, and the following year under Wolfe, at the siege of Quebec. Ultimately he became governor of Quebec, and, during his administration, defeated the American flotilla under Arnold. In 1790, having been created Baron Dorchester, he was appointed governor of all the British possessions, except Newfoundland, in North America. The close of his life was passed in retirement. He died in 1808. As a soldier, Lord Dorchester appears to have deservedly obtained a high reputation for courage and skill.

MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM.

Charles Watson Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham, was born 1730. In 1763, disgusted with the proceedings of Lord Bute, then the reigning favorite at court, he resigned the situation of a lord of the bed-chamber, which he had for some time before held, and also his lord-lieutenancy of Yorkshire. Two years had scarcely elapsed, however, when the whole system of government having undergone a change, he was appointed, in July, 1765, first lord of the treasury, in the room of George Grenville. He seems to have brought to his exalted station an anxious desire to advance the prosperity of his country; and had his talents been equal to his good intentions, his administration might have proved fortunate. But the crisis in which he took office was important and even dangerous, and he had to struggle against the intrigues of an opposition, powerful both in numbers and talent. He soon became convinced of the impracticability of remaining at the helm of affairs, and resigned the premiership on the 1st of August, 1766.

During the long administration of Lord North, the marquis was considered, in the House of Lords, as the head of the aristocratic part of the opposition; but his conduct was entirely free from that political rancor which has too often disgraced the parliamentary behavior of the greatest statesmen in England. At length, Lord North felt compelled to succumb beneath the force and continued attacks of his powerful rival, Fox; and George the Third offered the premiership to Lord Shelburne, who, however, declared that, in his judgment, no one was so well fitted to take the lead in administration as the Marquis of Rockingham. Accordingly, in March, 1782, the marquis was again elevated to the chief direction of affairs, having for his principal colleagues, the Earl of Shelburne and Mr. Fox. The ministry thus formed, seemed likely to be permanent; for it united much of the wealth and talent of the country. The hopes of the nation were, however, doomed to be miserably disappointed. On the 1st of July, the marquis was seized with a violent spasmodic affection, and almost instantly expired. He had long anticipated his approaching death, and is said to have expressed but one motive for wishing a continuance of life, which was, that he might see his country extricated from her troubles.

EDMUND BURKE.

The history of this distinguished statesman and eloquent orator is exceedingly interesting, but it belongs to these pages to notice him only as he was a friend to American rights, and often lifted up his voice in parliament in defence of them. He was born in Dublin, 1730. His father was a respectable attorney. Burke received his education at Trinity college; on the completion of which, he studied law, but devoted himself chiefly to literature. He conducted Dodley's celebrated Annual Register for many years. In 1765, he entered into public life, being made private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham at the time that nobleman was called to the head of the treasury. Soon after, he was elected to parliament. In 1766, he took a prominent part in a debate relative to the affairs of America, and often, afterwards, raised his voice in opposition to the arbitrary measures of the government. For a time, the affairs of America are said to have engrossed almost all his attention.

During one of the debates on American affairs, a member from Hull, by the name of Hartley, after having driven four-fifths of a very full house from the benches, by an unusually dull speech, at length requested that the riot act might be read, for the purpose of elucidating one of his propositions. Burke, who was impatient to address the house himself, immediately started up, and exclaimed: "The riot act! My dearest friend, why, in the name of every thing sacred, have the riot act read? The mob, you see, is already dispersed!" Peals of laughter followed the utterance of this comic appeal, which Lord North frequently declared to be one of the happiest instances of wit he ever heard.[53]

Burke died in 1797. Unlike many of the statesmen of his day, "his character, in private life, was almost unimpeachable." As a public speaker, his manner was bold and forcible; his delivery, vehement and unembarrassed; but, though easy, he was inelegant. His head continually oscillated, and his gesticulations were frequently violent. To the last hour of his life, his pronunciation was Hibernian. Although a great orator, he was not a skillful debater. Few men ever possessed greater strength of imagination, or a more admirable choice of words. His mind was richly stored, and he had the most perfect mastery over its treasures. Johnson said he was not only the first man in the House of Commons, but the first man every where; and, on being asked if he did not think Burke resembled Cicero, replied, "No, sir; Cicero resembled Burke."

THADDEUS KOSCIUSKO.

Thaddeus Kosciusko, a Polish officer in the American revolutionary war, was born in Lithuania, in 1756, of an ancient and noble family, and educated at the military school at Warsaw. He afterwards studied in France. He came to America, recommended, by Franklin, to General Washington, by whom he was appointed his aid. He was also appointed his engineer, with the rank of colonel, in October 1776. At the unsuccessful siege of Ninety-Six, in 1781, he very judiciously directed the operations. It was, in 1774, that he left this country, and, in 1786, he returned to Poland. In 1789, the diet gave him the appointment of major-general. In the campaign of 1792, he distinguished himself against the Russians. In 1794, the Poles again took arms, and were headed by Kosciusko; but, after several splendid battles, he was taken and thrown into prison by Catharine, but was released by Paul I. When the emperor presented him with his own sword, he declined it, saying: "I no longer need a sword, since I have no longer a country." Never afterwards did he wear a sword. In August, 1797, he visited America, and was received with honor. For his revolutionary services, he received a pension. In 1798, he went to France. Having purchased an estate near Fontainebleau, he lived there till 1814. In 1816, he settled at Soleure, in Switzerland. In 1817, he abolished slavery on his estate in Poland. He died at Soleure, in consequence of a fall with his horse from a precipice near Vevay, October 16, 1817, aged sixty-one. He was never married.

COUNT PULASKI.

Count Pulaski was a Polander by birth, who, with a few men, in 1771, carried off King Stanislaus from the middle of his capital, though surrounded with a numerous body of guards and a Russian army. The king soon escaped, and declared Pulaski an outlaw. After his arrival in this country, he offered his services to congress, and was honored with the rank of brigadier-general. He discovered the greatest intrepidity in an engagement with a party of the British near Charleston, in May, 1779. In the assault upon Savannah, October 9th, by General Lincoln and Count D'Estaing, Pulaski was wounded, at the head of two hundred horsemen, as he was galloping into the town, with the intention of charging in the rear. He died on the 11th, and congress resolved that a monument should be erected to his memory.

BARON DE KALB.

Baron de Kalb was a native of Germany, but had been long employed in the service of France, previous to the commencement of the American revolution. He arrived in this country in 1777; and being an officer of great experience, he early received from congress the commission of major-general. In the battle near Camden, August, 1780, he fell, after receiving eleven wounds, in his vigorous exertions to prevent the defeat of the Americans. He died August 19th, aged forty-seven, having served three years with high reputation. His last moments were spent in dictating a letter, which expressed his warm affection for the men and officers of his division, and his admiration of their firmness and courage in withstanding a superior force. An ornamental tree was planted at the head of his grave in the neighborhood of Camden, and congress resolved that a monument should be erected to his memory at Annapolis, with a very honorable inscription.

BARON STEUBEN.

Frederick William, Baron de Steuben, was a Prussian officer, aid-de-camp to Frederick the Great, and lieutenant-general in the army of that distinguished commander. He arrived in America in 1777; soon after which, he was made inspector-general, with the rank of major-general. He established a uniform system of manœuvres; and, by his skill and persevering industry, effected, during the continuance of the troops at Valley Forge, a most decided improvement in all ranks of the army. He was a volunteer in the action at Monmouth, and commanded in the trenches at Yorktown on the day which concluded the struggle with Great Britain. He died at Steubenville, New York, November 28th, 1794, aged sixty-one years.

"When the army was disbanded, and the old soldiers shook hands in farewell, Lieutenant-colonel Cochran, a Green-mountain veteran, said: 'For myself, I could stand it; but my wife and daughters are in the garret of that wretched tavern, and I have no means of removing them,' 'Come,' said the baron, 'I will pay my respects to Mrs. C. and her daughters.' And when he left them, their countenances were brightened; for he gave them all he had to give. This was at Newburg. On the wharf, he saw a poor wounded black man, who wanted a dollar to pay for his passage home. Of whom the baron borrowed the dollar, it is not known; but he soon returned; when the negro hailed the sloop, and cried: 'God bless you, master baron!' The state of New Jersey gave him a small farm. New York gave him sixteen thousand acres in Oneida county; a pension of twenty-five hundred dollars was also given him. He built him a log house at Steubenville, gave a tenth-part of his land to his aids and servants, and parceled out the rest to twenty or thirty tenants. His library was his chief solace. Having but little exercise, he died of apoplexy. Agreeably to his request, he was wrapped in his cloak, and buried in a plain coffin, without a stone. He was a believer in Jesus Christ, and a member of the Reformed Dutch Church, New York."

COUNT ROCHAMBEAU.

Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, marshal of France, was born at Vendome in 1725. At the age of sixteen he entered the army, and served in Germany, under Marshal Broglio. In 1746, he became aid to Louis Philip, Duke of Orleans. In 1780, having been made lieutenant-general, he was sent with an army of six thousand men to the assistance of the United States of America. On reaching the place of his destination, he landed in Rhode Island, and soon after acted in concert with Washington, first against Clinton in New York, and then against Cornwallis, rendering important services at the siege of Yorktown, which were rewarded by a present of two cannon taken from Lord Cornwallis. After the Revolution, Rochambeau was raised to the rank of a marshal by Louis XVI., and received the command of the army of the north. He was soon superseded by more active officers, and being calumniated by the popular journalists, he addressed to the legislative assembly a vindication of his conduct. A decree of approbation was consequently passed in May, 1792, and he retired to his estate near Vendome, with a determination to interfere no more with public affairs. He was subsequently arrested, and narrowly escaped suffering death under the tyranny of Robespiere. In 1803, he was presented to Buonaparte, who in the following year gave him a pension and the cross of grand officer of the legion of honor. His death took place in 1809.--_Encyclopedia Americana_.

COUNT D'ESTAING.

Charles Henry, Count d'Estaing, admiral and lieutenant-general of the armies of France, before the Revolution, was a native of Ravel, in Auvergne, and was descended from an ancient family in that province. Count d'Estaing commenced his career by serving in the East Indies, under Lally, when he was taken prisoner, and sent home on his parole. Having engaged in hostilities again before he was regularly exchanged, he was taken a second time, and imprisoned at Portsmouth. During the American war, he was employed as vice-admiral.

At the capture of the isle of Grenada, he distinguished himself; but on every occasion he showed more courage than conduct or professional skill. He promoted the Revolution, and in 1789, he was appointed a commander of the National Guards at Versailles. In 1791, he addressed to the national assembly a letter full of protestations of attachment to the constitution, on the occasion of the approaching trial of the king. He suffered under the guillotine in 1793, as a counter-revolutionist, at the age of sixty-five.

FOOTNOTE:

[53] Hartley was considered a tedious speaker on account of his prolixity. But he was a friend to America, and often told the ministers some very unwelcome truths. The following good story is told of him: One afternoon, Jenkinson, the first Lord Liverpool, left the house when the member from Hull rose to speak; and presuming that the honorable gentleman would, as usual, deliver a very long, dull speech, he walked home, mounted his horse, and rode to his country-house, where he dined; and, after strolling for some time about his grounds, returned at a gentle pace to town. On his arrival at home, he sent a messenger to the house to ascertain what had been done, and how soon the division might be expected to take place. The reply he received was, that Mr. Hartley had not yet done speaking; and when Jenkinson, at length, thought it advisable, in order to be in time for voting, to go down to Westminster, he found the long-winded orator still on his legs!

V. FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

ORIGINAL Governments of the Colonies--Union between them--Plan proposed by Dr. Franklin--First Congress--Congress of '74--Confederation--Defects of it--Convention of States proposed by Virginia--Commissioners from five States meet at Annapolis--Powers too limited to act--Recommend a General Convention of States--Delegates appointed--Convention meets at Philadelphia--Decides to form a new Constitution--Draft prepared--Discussed--Adopted--Speech of Dr. Franklin--Constitution signed--Adopted by the several States--Amendments--States admitted since the adoption--Remarks on the Constitution.

The several colonies established in America had governments which varied according as they were charter, proprietary, or royal, which were the three forms of government existing in America prior to the Revolution. In certain particulars, they differed from each other as classes, and the classes differed as individuals. But for a series of years there existed no general political association, or bond of union among them. As early, however, as 1643, the New England colonies, Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, entered into a perpetual alliance, offensive and defensive, for mutual protection against the claims of their Dutch neighbors, and the assaults of their Indian foes. By the articles of this confederation, the jurisdiction of each colony within its own borders was to be exclusive; on the occurrence of war, each one was to furnish its quota of men and provisions, according to its population; and two commissioners from each colony were to hold an annual meeting to decide on all matters of general interest. With some alterations, this confederacy existed more than forty years; it was dissolved only in 1686, when the charters of the New England colonies were vacated by a commissioner from James II. This union was productive of many advantages to the colonies. Besides preserving a mutual good understanding among them, and thus preventing encroachments upon one another's rights, assistance was rendered in their wars with the Indians; without which, it is probable that the more feeble would have been broken up.

In 1754, an attempt at union was made on a more extensive scale. The plan originated in a call from the lords commissioners for trade and the plantations, and consisted of deputies from the New England provinces, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The congress met at Albany. The object proposed by the commissioners was to consider the best means of defence in case of a war with France, and particularly to form an alliance with the Six Nations. Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, availing himself of the occasion, proposed to the several governors that the delegates should be instructed on the subject of a _general union_ or _confederation_. This meeting with general approbation, the delegates were so instructed. A plan of union, prepared by Dr. Franklin, was discussed, and substantially adopted--the delegates from Connecticut dissenting.[54] But it received the approbation neither of the colonies nor of the king's council; not by the first, because it was supposed to give too much power to the president-general, who was to be the king's representative; nor by the latter, because too much power was supposed to be given to the representatives of the people.

The foregoing plan having failed, no other attempt at union was made for several years. At length, in 1765, in consequence of the passing of the stamp act by parliament, and other grievances, the assembly of Massachusetts in June of that year adopted the following resolution: "That it is highly expedient there should be a meeting, as soon as may be, of committees from the houses of representatives or burgesses, in the several colonies, to consult on the present circumstances of the colonies, and the difficulties to which they are and must be reduced, and to consider of a general congress, to be held at New York, the first Tuesday of October. A letter was prepared, to be sent to the several speakers, and a committee was chosen for Massachusetts."