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were divided into two regiments: the first under Col. Washington, who still continued commander-in-chief of all the Virginia troops; the second under Col. Byrd. Early in July, Washington marched from Winchester with the principal part of the Virginia troops, to Fort Cumberland. Six companies of the 1st regiment proceeded by another route, and joined Col. Boquet at Raystown, the general place of rendezvous for the 6000 troops destined for the conquest of Duquesne. While at Fort Cumberland, Col. Washington learned that Gen. Forbes thought of constructing a new road to Duquesne, instead of following the one made by Braddock. He made the most strenuous objection against the plan, "when," as he said, there was scarce time left to tread the beaten track, universally confessed to be the best passage through the mountains." His efforts were in vain. Col. Boquet was ordered by Gen. Forbes, who was absent, to send forward parties to work upon the new road. "Six weeks had been thus spent, when Gen. Forbes arrived at Raystown, about the middle of September. Forty-five miles only had been gained by the advanced party, then constructing a fort at Loyal Hanna, the main army being still at Raystown, and the larger part of the Virginia troops at Fort Cumberland. At that moment the whole army might have been before the walls of Fort Duquesne, if they had marched as advised by Washington. An easy victory would have ensued; for it was ascertained that the French at that time, including Indians, numbered not more than 800 men."

From Loyal Hanna, Colonel Boquet rashly detached Major Grant, a British officer, with a force of 800 men, to reconnoitre in the vicinity of Fort Duquesne.

"This officer reached a hill near the fort during the night, and having posted his men in different columns, he sent forward a party to examine the works and discover the situation of the enemy. He also detached Major Andrew Lewis with a baggage guard about two miles in his rear; and having made such other arrangements as he deemed necessary, he believed himself secure, and, with more parade than prudence, ordered the réveille, or alarm, to be beaten. During all this time silence reigned in the fort, which Grant imputed to the terrors imposed by his appearance. But the calm was a dreadful precursor of a storm, which burst with resistless fury and unexpected ruin. The moment the Indians and French were ready for the attack, they issued from the fort, spreading death and dismay among the provincial troops. As soon as the attack was announced by the firing of guns, Major Lewis, with his rear-guard, advanced to the assistance of Grant, leaving only fifty men, under the command of Captain Bullet, to guard the baggage. Their united forces, however, were unable to withstand the impetuous assault of the savages, whose warwhoop is always a forerunner of havoc and destruction. The fire of the rifle requires coolness and deliberation, whereas the tomahawk and scalpingknife are fitted for sanguinary dispatch. No quarter was given by the Indians. Major Grant saved his life only by surrendering to a French officer. In the same way the brave Major Lewis escaped, after defending himself against several Indians successively. The two principal officers being now in the hands of the enemy, the rout be came general among their troops. In their pursuit, the Indians exercised every cruelty which savage ferocity could inflict upon the hapless victims whom the sad fortune of the day delivered into their hands. The situation of the retreating troops, at this time, must appear truly desperate. They were in an enemy's country, far from any English settlement, as well as from any immediate prospect of succor; routed and dispersed by a bloody and vindictive foe, whose intimate knowledge of the woods and superior agility seemed to threaten a total destruction of the party. Their escape, however, was effected by the prudence and heroism of Captain Bullet, of the baggage guard, by a manœuvre

no less fortunate for his men than honorable to himself. This officer, immediately on discovering the rout of the troops, dispatched on the strongest horses the most necessary part of the baggage, and disposing the remainder on an advantageous part of the road, as a kind of breastwork, he posted his men behind it, and endeavored not only to rally the fugitives as they came up, but by a well-directed fire to check the violence of the pursuers. Finding the enemy growing too strong to be withstood by his feeble force, he ordered his men, according to previous agreement, to reverse their arms and march up in front of their assailants, holding out a signal for capitulation, as if going to surrender. The impatience of the Indians to bathe their tomahawks in English blood, would scarcely allow them to suspend their attacks, while the latter appeared in the act of suing for mercy. The moment they had arrived within about eighty yards of the enemy, Bullet gave the word to fire :-a dreadful volley was instantly poured upon the Indians, and was followed by a furious charge with fixed bayonets. The enemy were unable to resist this bold and unexpected attack, and believing that the army of the English was at hand, they fled with precipitation; nor did they stop until they reached the French regulars. Bullet, instead of pursuing them, wisely retreated towards the main body of the army, collecting in his march the wounded and wandering soldiers, who had escaped from the field of battle without knowing whither to direct their course In this fatal action, about twenty officers, and two hundred and seventy-three private soldiers, were either killed or taken prisoners.

"The Virginia troops on this occasion behaved with courage, and suffered severely in the action; but the gallant conduct of Captain Bullet is almost without a parallel in American history. His situation, after the defeat of Grant, to an officer of less discernment must have appeared desperate. To resist the triumphant savages with a handful of men, would seem madness; and to have fled without any hopes of escape, would have been folly. In this dilemma, with scarcely time to deliberate, Bullet adopted the only plan which could preserve himself and his men from the most cruel death, or the most distressing captivity."

The dilatory and unwise method of carrying on the expedition alarmed the Virginia Assembly for the fate of the expedition, and they resolved to recall their troops and place them upon the protection of their own frontier. But subsequent information occasioned them to revoke these resolves.

On General Forbes' arrival at Raystown he called a council of war, and, at his desire, Col. Washington drew up a line of march. Washington, at his own request, was placed in the advance, with a division of 1000 men. "The month of November had set in before General Forbes, with the artillery and main body of the army, arrived at Loyal Hanna. More than 50 miles, through pathless and rugged wilds, still intervened between the army and Fort Duquesne. A council of war was held, and it was decided to be unadvisable, if not impracticable, to prosecute the campaign any further till the next season, and that a winter encampment among the mountains, or a retreat to the frontier settlements, was the only alternative that remained. Thus far all the anticipations of Washington had been realized." A mere accident reversed this decision. Three prisoners were taken, who gave such representations of the weak state of the garrison that it was determined to push on.

On the 25th of November, 1758, the army took peaceable possession of Fort Duquesne, or rather the place where it stood, for the enemy had burnt and abandoned it the day before, and gone down the Ohio in boats. This fortress, after being repaired and garrisoned, was named Fort Pitt, now the site of the flourishing city of Pittsburg, which place was then considered within the

jurisdiction of Virginia. The remains of Major Grant's men were buried by Gen. Forbes in one common tomb, the whole army assisting at the solemn ceremony.

Gen. Forbes returned to Philadelphia, where he died in a few weeks, and Washington soon directed his course to Williamsburg, as a member of the General Assembly from Frederick county. The capture of Duquesne restored quiet and general joy throughout the colony. The war was soon prosecuted at the North with vigor. In the succeeding summer of 1759, Niagara and Crown Point fell into the possession of the British crown, and on the 18th of September, Quebec surrendered to the brave and gallant Wolfe. The treaty of Fontainbleau, in November, 1762, put an end to the

war.

CHAPTER VII.

FROM THE TERMINATION OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR TO THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS.

Encroachments of Britain upon the American colonies.-Spirited conduct of Virginia thereon.-Patrick Henry's resolution on the right to tax America.-Death of Governor Fauquier.—Arrival of Lord Bottetourt.—Continued aggressions of the mother country.-Death of Bottetourt.-Lord Dunmore governor.-Dunmore's war.-Battle of Point Pleasant.-Speech of Logan.-End of the Indian war.-Meeting of the Continental Congress.-Dunmore removes the gunpowder of the colony from the magazine at Williamsburg.-Patrick Henry marches down at the head of a body of volunteers and forces the Receiver-general to make compensation.-Battle of Lexington.-Dunmore flees on board the Fowey man-of-war.-Termination of the Royal government in Virginia.-Meeting of the Virginia Convention.-Dunmore, with the British fleet, attacks Hampton.-Affair in Princess Anne.-Defeat of the enemy at Great Bridge.-Norfolk burnt.-Delegates in Congress instructed by the General Convention of Virginia to propose the Declaration of Independence.—Ã Constitution for the State Government adopted.-Patrick Henry governor.-Joyous reception in Virginia of the news of the Declaration of Independence.-Dunmore driven from Gwynn's Island.-First meeting of the Legislature under the State Constitution.— Indian war.-Col. Christian makes peace with the Creek and Cherokee nations.— Revision of the State laws.-Glance at the war at the north.-Col. Rogers Clark takes Kaskaskias and Fort St. Vincent.-Illinois erected into a county.-Virginia cedes her Western Territory to the United States.-Sir Henry Clinton appointed Commander-in-chief of the British army. He transfers the seat of the war to the south. Sir George Collier, with a British fleet, enters Hampton Roads.— Fort Nelson abandoned.-The enemy take possession of Portsmouth, and burn Suffolk. They embark for New York.-The reduction of Virginia determined on by the enemy.—Gen. Leslie invades Virginia, and lands at Portsmouth. The gov ernment prepares to resist the enemy.-Leslie leaves Virginia.-Battle of the Cowpens.-Arnold invades Virginia, lands at Westover, and marches to Richmond.-He returns to Westover, and arrives at Portsmouth.-Washington forms a plan to cut off his retreat.-Clinton detaches Gen. Philips to the assistance of Arnold.-Defenceless situation of Virginia.-Philips takes possession of Petersburg, and commits depredations in the vicinity.-Death of Gen. Philips.-Cornwallis enters Petersburg.— Tarleton's expedition to Charlotteville-Various movements of the two armies.— Cornwallis concentrates his army at York and Gloucester.-Surrender of Corn. wallis.

"QUESTIONS touching the power of the British Parliament to interfere with the concerns of the colonies had arisen more than once

before the war, and during its continuance the delicate question arose, of the proportions which the several colonies should pay for the common defence. The British ministry proposed that deputies should meet and determine the amount necessary, and draw on the British treasury, which in turn should be reimbursed by an equal tax on all the colonies, to be laid by Parliament; but the colonies were afraid to let the lion put his paw in their pockets, even to take back his own; and this being no time to raise difficulties, the colonial legislatures were left to their own discretion in voting supplies, which they did with a liberality so disproportioned to their ability, as to excite the praise, and in some instances to induce a reimbursement on the part of the mother country. Virginia had always resisted any interference on the part of Parliament, especially in the navigation acts, and asserted as early as 1624, that she only had the undoubted right to lay taxes and impositions, and none other,' and afterwards refused to let any member of the council of Governor Berkeley, in the height of his popularity, assist them in determining the amount of the public levy. Again in 1676, even stronger language was used and acquiesced in by the king, to whom it was immediately addressed.

"The slight taxes imposed for the regulation of commerce, and the support of a post-office, were borne by the colonies without a murmur, being considered only a fair compensation for a benefit received. In March, 1764, the ministers declared it 'expedient to raise a revenue on stamps in America, to be paid into the king's exchequer.' The discussion of this was postponed until the next year in Parliament, but commenced immediately in America, and the proposition was met by every form of respectful petition and indignant remonstrance; which were, however, equally unavailing, and the stamp act passed in 1765. The passage of this act excited universal and indignant hostility throughout the colonies, which was displayed in the forms of mourning and the cessation of business; the courts refused to sanction the act by sitting, and the bar by using the stamps. In the succeeding Virginia legislature, Patrick Henry introduced and carried, among others, the following resolution :—

"Resolved, That the General Assembly of this colony, together with his majesty, or substitute, have, in their representative capacity, the only exclusive right and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this colony: and that every attempt to vest such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other than the General Assembly aforesaid, is illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust, and has a manifest tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom."

"After the passage of Henry's resolutions, the governor dissolved the Assembly; but the people re-elected the friends, and excluded the opposers of the resolutions. The spirited conduct of Virginia fired the ardor of the other colonies; they passed similar resolutions, and a general Congress was proposed. The deputies of nine states met in New York on the 1st of October; they drafted a declaration of rights, a petition to the king, commons, and lords

The stamp act was repealed, and Virginia sent an address of thanks to the king and parliament."

Francis Fauquier, Lieut. Governor of Virginia, died in 1767, and the government devolved on John Blair, until the arrival of Lord Bottetourt, the following year.

"The joy of the colonies at the repeal of the stamp act was short-lived. British ministers imagined that they could cheat the colonies out of their opposition to taxation without representation, by laying an import duty instead of a direct tax; and accordingly, a duty was laid upon glass, tea, paper, and painter's colors; but this was equally against the spirit of the British constitution, and met with a warmer and more indignant resistance on the part of the colonies, who now began to believe they had little hope from the justice of parliament. The legislature of Virginia passed very spirited resolutions, which it ordered to be sent only to the king; upon the passage of which the governor dissolved it; and the members immediately met and entered unanimously into a nonimportation agreement.

"The British ministers perceived their error, and determined to pause in their violence; to effect this object the governors were directed to inform the colonies, that his majesty's ministers did not intend to raise a revenue in America, and the duties objected to should be speedily repealed. These assurances, made to Virginia by Lord Boitetourt, a governor whom they highly respected, served, with his own good conduct, for a time to allay her suspicions of the ministry; but the course they pursued towards Massachusetts was more than sufficient to rekindle her jealousy. She passed a protest, declaring that partial remedies could not heal the present disorders, and renewed their non-importation agreement. In 1771 Bottetourt died, and Virginia erected a statue to his memory, which still stands in the town of Williamsburg. Wm. Nelson, then president of the council, occupied the chair of government until the arrival of Lord Dunmore, in 1772. The delay of Lord Dunmore in New York for some months after his appointment to the gubernatorial chair of Virginia, excited the prejudices of the colony, which his sending a man of some military distinction as a clerk, and raising a salary and fees for him out of the colony, were by no means calculated to dissipate. The first legislature that met compelled the governor to dispense with the emoluments of his secretary, Capt. Foy; and the next, after thanking him for his activity in apprehending some counterfeiters of the colony paper, strongly reproved him for dispensing with the usual forms and ceremonies with which the law has guarded the liberty of the citizen. The same legislature, having provided for the soundness and security of the currency, the punishment of the guilty, and required the governor to respect the law, turned their eyes to their sister colonies, and appointed a committee of correspondence* to

* This committee were Peyton Randolph, Robert Carter Nicholas, Richard Bland,