I arrived at Yorktown at twilight [Dec. 20, 1848.], and passed the night at the only inn in the place, which is owned by William Nelson, Esq., grandson of Governor Thomas Nelson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. To the kindness and intelligence of that gentleman, I am indebted for much of the pleasure and profit of my visit there. We supped together upon far-famed York River oysters just brought from their oozy bed, and it was near midnight before we parted company. Mr. Nelson resides in the fine old mansion which belonged to his grandfather, and which yet bears marks of the iron hail poured upon it during the siege of Yorktown.

Early the next morning I strolled over the village. It is situated upon a high bluff of concrete or stone marl, covered with a sandy soil, on the south side of the York River, about eleven miles from its mouth. The peninsula on which the town stands is level, and is embraced upon each side by deep ravines, which almost meet in the rear. The ground is the highest upon either the York or James Rivers, below Richmond. Being the shire town of the county, it contains the public buildings. 1 These, with about forty dwellings, some of them decaying, compose the village, which formerly was one of the most flourishing towns on the peninsula. It contained about sixty houses at the time of the siege in 1781. A fire which occurred in 1814 destroyed much property there, and from that blow the village seems never to have recovered. At that time its old church, built a century and a half before, was destroyed; nothing but its stone-marl walls were left standing. In this picturesque condition it remained for thirty years, when it was repaired, and is now used as a place of worship.

THE NELSON TOMBS. 2

PRESENT APPEARANCE OF THE BRITISH WORKS AT YORKTOWN. 3

We have considered the flight of Cornwallis from Jamestown to Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, after his engagement with the Americans at the former place, on the evening of the sixth of July, 1781. On that day Rochambeau joined Washington at Dobbs’ Ferry, on the Hudson, and the two generals earnestly conferred respecting an attack upon the city of New York by the allied armies. Washington had written to Count De Grasse, then with a French fleet in the West Indies, desiring him to sail immediately for Sandy Hook, and cooperate with the land forces against the head-quarters of the British army. While the commander-in-chief was making his arrangements for the enterprise against New York, circumstances obliged him to abandon it. The arrival of re-enforcements for the British commander; a letter from De Grasse announcing his intention to remain in the West Indies, and another from La Fayette from Williamsburg, informing him of the departure of Cornwallis for Portsmouth and the embarkation of a large portion of his army for New York, were the principal causes which influenced Washington in making an entire change in the programme of the operations of the combined armies during the remainder of the campaign. 4 As we have observed (p. 781, vol. i.) the allies crossed the Hudson and marched southward to co-operate with La Fayette in Virginia.

CORNWALLIS. 5

On the arrival of nearly three thousand troops, many of them Hessians, to re-enforce him in New York [Aug. 11, 1781.], Sir Henry Clinton countermanded his orders in which he had directed Cornwallis to send a portion of his army northward. The letter reached the earl at Portsmouth before the transports left Hampton Roads. It also contained expressions of surprise that his lordship should have left the vicinity of Williamsburg without consulting his commander-in-chief; and he was directed to take some strong position on the Chesapeake, in order to carry on his harassing warfare in Virginia and Maryland. Cornwallis accordingly sent his engineers to view, first Old Point Comfort, near Hampton, and then Yorktown and Gloucester. The latter places appeared to be the most eligible for offensive and defensive operations, and for the protection of any co-operative fleet that might be sent to the Chesapeake. A part of Cornwallis’s army accordingly proceeded up the York River in transports and boats, and took possession of these posts on the first of September [1781. {original text has 1780.}]. On the twentieth, the evacuation of Portsmouth was completed; and on the twenty-second, the whole army of the earl, about seven thousand strong, was concentrated at York and Gloucester. Cornwallis immediately commenced fortifying both points. He constructed a line of works completely around Yorktown, and also extended a line of intrenchments across the peninsula of Gloucester, in the rear of that little town. Besides the works in close proximity to Yorktown, he constructed some field works at a considerable distance, to impede the approach of an enemy. 6 All this time La Fayette was within a few miles of the earl, but neither party dared strike a blow. The marquis did not feel sufficiently strong to attack Cornwallis, and the latter was unwilling to impede the progress in fortifying Yorktown, by engaging his troops in other enterprises.

While Washington was uncertain what course to pursue, he received dispatches from Count De Barras, 7 the successor of Ternay at Newport, bearing the agreeable intelligence that the Count De Grasse 8 was to sail from Cape François, in the West Indies, on the thirteenth of August for the Chesapeake, with between twenty-five and twenty-nine sail of the line, and three thousand two hundred land troops under the command of the Marquis St. Simon. De Grasse desired every thing to be in readiness to commence operations when he should arrive, for he intended to return to the West Indies by the middle of October. 9 The plan of the southern campaign was, therefore, speedily arranged, and, as we have seen, the allied armies were far on their march toward the head of Elk before Sir Henry Clinton was assured of their real destination. 10

The Count De Grasse, with twenty-eight ships and several brigades, arrived in the Chesapeake at the close of August [Aug. 31, 1781.]. At Cape Henry, an officer sent by La Fayette gave De Grasse full information respecting the situation of the two armies in Virginia. De Grasse immediately dispatched four ships of the line and several frigates to blockade the mouth of the York River, and to convey the land forces commanded by the Marquis De St. Simon (for portrait, see next page), who were destined to join those of La Fayette on the James River. 11 Cornwallis now perceived the imminent peril that surrounded him, and conceived a plan for escaping into North Carolina, but the vigilance of La Fayette prevented his attempting the movement. 12 He could console himself only with the hope that Sir Henry Clinton would send him timely aid.

ST. SIMON. 13

The French fleet lay in Lynn Haven Bay, just within the Chesapeake, near Cape Henry, on the morning of the fifth of September [1781.]. At sunrise the British fleet was seen off Cape Charles. At first Count De Grasse supposed it to be the squadron of De Barras, but being soon undeceived, he prepared for battle. The wind was fair, and the British fleet sailed directly within the Capes for the purpose of attacking the French. De Grasse slipped his cables, and put to sea, desiring more room for conflict than the waters of the Chesapeake afforded. Admiral Graves bore down upon De Grasse, and both fleets, in attempting to gain the weather gage, slowly moved eastward, clear of the Capes, upon the broad Atlantic. At four o’clock in the afternoon, a partial action commenced between the van and part of the center of the two fleets, and continued until sunset. Several ships were considerably damaged, but neither commander could claim a victory. Admiral Graves preserved the weather gage during the night, and intended to have renewed the battle on the following morning; but, having ascertained that several ships of the van division, under Admiral Drake, could not safely be brought into action again without being repaired, he deferred an attack. For five successive days the hostile fleets were in sight of each other, sometimes approaching quite near, but neither party seemed desirous of renewing the contest. At length the Count De Grasse bore away for the Chesapeake, and anchored again in Lynn Haven Bay, within the Capes [Sept. 10.]. There he found De Barras with his squadron, and a considerable land force under M. De Choisé (for portrait, see opposite page), together with fourteen transports, with heavy artillery and military stores suitable for carrying on a siege. Graves approached the Capes of the Chesapeake, but, finding the entrance blocked up by a force with which he was unable to contend with a hope of success, he bore away and returned to New York, for he began to entertain greater fears of the equinoctial gales on the coast than of the guns of the French ships of the line. The French lost in the action two hundred and twenty men, including four officers killed and eighteen wounded. The English lost ninety killed, and two hundred and forty-six wounded. The Terrible, one of the English ships, was so much damaged, that, after taking out her prisoners and stores, they set fire to and burned her. 14

While these events were occurring on the Virginia coast, the allied armies were making their way southward with all possible dispatch, and Sir Henry Clinton, certified of their destination, 15 was trying to divert their attention from the South, and recall some of their forces by menacing movements at the North. He sent Arnold with a strong force to attack New London, an event which we have considered on pages 610 to 613 of vol. 1 inclusive {original text has "42 and 45 inclusive".}. He also threatened New Jersey, and caused a rumor to go abroad that he was about to proceed with a strong force against the American posts in the Hudson Highlands, which Washington had left in charge of General Heath, with fourteen regiments. These movements and rumors failed to produce their desired effect; and the outrages committed by Arnold at New London and vicinity served only to heighten the exasperation of the patriot army, and nerve it to more vigorous action.

When the allied forces arrived at the head of Elk there were not vessels sufficient to transport them, and a large portion of the American troops, and all of the French, made their way to Baltimore and Annapolis by land. Washington, with Count De Rochambeau and the Marquis De Chastellux, 16 reached Baltimore on the eighth [Sept., 1781.], Mount Vernon on the tenth, 17 and Williamsburg on the evening of the fourteenth. He had ordered the troops that were embarked on the Chesapeake to halt, after learning that the fleet of De Grasse had left the Capes to fight Graves, but when he arrived at Williamsburg and found both French fleets in the Chesapeake, 18 he sent Count Fersen, one of Rochambeau’s aids, with ten transports from Barras’s squadron, to hasten the troops forward. This was speedily accomplished, and the forces at the head of Elk, and at Annapolis, proceeded by water to the James River.

On the seventeenth [Sept.], Washington, accompanied by Rochambeau, De Chastellux, and Generals Knox and Du Portail, proceeded to visit De Grasse on board of his flag-ship, the Ville de Paris, lying off Cape Henry. They sailed in a small vessel called the Queen Charlotte, and arrived on the eighteenth. Satisfactory arrangements were made for an immediate attack upon Cornwallis, as soon as the American troops should reach Williamsburg. 19 While awaiting their approach, information was received that Admiral Digby, with six ships of the line, had arrived at New York as a re-enforcement for Graves. Confident that nothing would be left untried in attempts to relieve Cornwallis, and thinking his situation in the Chesapeake unfavorable for an engagement with the augmented force of the English, now nearly equal to that of his own. De Grasse communicated to Washington his intention to leave a few frigates to blockade the York and James Rivers, and to put to sea with his ships of the line in quest of the British. This communication alarmed Washington, for a superior naval force might enter the Chesapeake in the mean while, and assist Cornwallis in making his escape. He prevailed upon De Grasse to remain, and on the twenty-fifth, the last division of the allied troops having reached Williamsburg, preparations for the siege commenced.

DE LAUZUN. 20

On the morning of the twenty-eighth, the combined armies, about twelve thousand strong, left Williamsburg by different roads, and marched toward Yorktown. On their approach, the British left their field-works, and withdrew to those near the town, the remains of which are mentioned on a preceding page. 21 The American light infantry and a considerable body of French troops were ordered to take possession of these abandoned works, and to serve as a covering party for the troops while digging trenches and casting up breast-works. Cannonading from the town, and one or two sorties, occurred during the day. Colonel Alexander Scammell, 22 the officer of the day, while reconnoitering near the Fusileers’ redoubt (A), situated upon the river bank, at the mouth of a little stream on the extreme left, was surprised by two or three Hessian horsemen. He surrendered, but they shot him, and left him for dead. He was carried into Yorktown, and at the request of Washington, Cornwallis allowed him to be taken to Williamsburg. This circumstance is mentioned on page 430, volume i. I visited the site of the redoubt represented in the sketch, and was informed that Colonel Scammell was killed near the stream, which there crosses the river road from Williamsburg to Yorktown.

On the thirtieth the place was completely invested by the allied armies, their line extending in a semicircle, at a distance of nearly two miles from the British works, each wing resting upon the York River. The French troops occupied the left, the Americans the right, while Count De Grasse with his fleet remained in Lynn Haven Bay, to beat off any naval force which might come to the aid of Cornwallis. On the extreme left of the besieging army were the West India regiments under St. Simon, and next to them were the French light infantry regiments, commanded by the Baron and the Viscount Viomenil. The most distinguished colonels of these regiments were the Duke De Laval Montmorenci, and Counts William Deuxponts and Custine. (For portraits, see next page.) The French artillery and the quarters of the two chiefs occupied the center; and on the right, across a marsh, were the American artillery under General Knox, assisted by Colonel Lamb, Lieutenant-colonels Stevens 23 and Carrington, and Major Bauman; 24 the Virginian, Maryland, and Pennsylvanian troops, under Steuben; the New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey troops, with sappers and miners under General James Clinton; the light infantry under La Fayette; and the Virginia militia under Governor Nelson. The quarters of General Lincoln were on the banks of Wormeley’s Creek, on the extreme right. The general disposition of the troops will be better understood by reference to the map on the next page.

CUSTINE. 25

From the first until the sixth of October, the besieging armies were employed in bringing up heavy ordnance, and making other preparations. The evening of the sixth was very dark and stormy, and under cover of the gloom, the first parallel 26 was commenced within six hundred yards of Cornwallis’s works. General Lincoln commanded the troops detailed for this service. So silently and so earnestly did they labor, that they were not discerned by the British sentinels, and before daylight the trenches were sufficiently complete to shield the laborers from the guns of the enemy. On the afternoon of the ninth, several batteries and redoubts were completed, and a general discharge of twenty-four and eighteen pounders was commenced by the Americans on the right. This cannonade was kept up without intermission during the night, and early the next morning [Oct. 10, 1781.] the French opened their batteries upon the enemy. For nearly eight hours there was an incessant roar of cannons and mortars; and hundreds of bombs and round shot were poured upon the British works. So tremendous was the bombardment, that the besieged soon withdrew their cannon from the embrasures, and fired very few shots in return. At evening red hot cannon balls were hurled from the French battery F, on the extreme left, at the Guadaloupe and Charon, two British vessels in the river. The Guadaloupe was driven from her post, and the Charon of forty-four guns and three large transports were burned. The night was starry and mild, and invited to repose, but the besiegers rested not, and Yorktown presented a scene of terrible grandeur, such as is seldom witnessed by the eye of man. 27 All night long the allies kept up a cannonade, and early the next morning [Oct. 11.] another British vessel was set in flames by a fiery ball, and consumed.

To excite a spirit of emulation, the reduction of one was committed to the American light infantry under La Fayette; the other to a detachment of the French grenadiers and chasseurs, commanded by Major-general the Baron De Viomenil, a brave and experienced officer. Toward evening the two detachments marched to the assault. Colonel Alexander Hamilton, who had commanded a battalion of light infantry during this campaign, led the advanced corps of the Americans, assisted by Colonel Gimat, La Fayette’s aid; while Colonel Laurens, with eighty men, turned the redoubt, in order to intercept the retreat of the garrison. At a given signal, the troops rushed furiously to the charge without firing a gun, the van being led by Captain Aaron Ogden, of New Jersey. Over the abatis and palisades they leaped, and with such vehemence and rapidity assaulted and entered the works, that their loss was inconsiderable. One sergeant and eight privates were killed; and seven officers, and twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates were wounded. Colonel Gimat received a slight wound in the foot, and Major Gibbs, commander of Washington’s Life-guard, was also slightly wounded. Major Campbell, who commanded the redoubt, and some inferior officers, with seventeen privates, were made prisoners. Eight privates of the garrison were killed in the assault, but not one was injured after the surrender. 28 This redoubt (K, on the map) was upon the high river bank, on the extreme right of the American lines. When I visited the spot in 1848, the remains of the embankments were quite prominent.

VIEW FROM THE SITE OF THE REDOUBT. 29

The redoubt (L) stormed by the French under Viomenil was garrisoned by a greater force, and was not so easily overcome. It was defended by a lieutenant colonel, and one hundred and twenty men. After a combat of nearly half an hour, the redoubt was surrendered. Eighteen of the garrison were killed, and forty-two were made prisoners. The French lost in killed and wounded about one hundred men. 30 In this engagement Count Mathieu Dumas (see portrait, on next page), one of Rochambeau’s aids, bore a conspicuous part. He was in the advanced corps, and was one of the first who entered the redoubt. 31 In this assault the Count De Deuxponts, who led the French grenadiers, was slightly wounded. Count Charles De Lameth, the adjutant general, was also wounded, a musket ball passing through both knees. Washington was highly gratified with the success of these assaults, and in general orders the next day congratulated the armies on the result.

COUNT MATHIEU DUMAS. 32

THE NELSON MANSION. 33

At daybreak, on the morning of the seventeenth, several new batteries in the second parallel were opened, and a more terrible storm of shells and round shot was poured upon the town than had yet been experienced by the enemy. Governor Nelson, who was at the head of the Virginia militia, commanded the first battery that opened upon the British works that morning. His fine stone mansion, the most commodious in the place, was a prominent object within the British lines. He knew that Cornwallis and his staff occupied it, and was probably in it when he began the cannonade. Regardless of the personal loss that must ensue, he pointed one of his heaviest guns directly toward his house, and ordered the gunner, and also a bombardier, to play upon it with the greatest vigor. 34 The desired effect was accomplished. Upon the heights of Saratoga, Burgoyne found no place secure from the cannon-balls of the besiegers; in Yorktown there was like insecurity; 35 and before ten o’clock in the morning, Cornwallis beat a parley, and proposed a cessation of hostilities. The house of Governor Nelson, I have already mentioned, still bears many scars received during the bombardment; and in the yard attached to the dwelling, I saw a huge unexploded bomb-shell which was cast there by order of the patriot owner.

Cornwallis, despairing of victory or escape, sent a flag to Washington with a request that hostilities should be suspended for twenty-four hours, and that commissioners should be appointed to meet at Mrs. Moore’s house on the right of the American lines, and just in the rear of the first parallel, 36 to arrange terms for the surrender of his army. Washington was unwilling to waste precious time in negotiations, for, in the mean while, the augmented British fleet might arrive, and give the earl an opportunity to escape. 37 In his reply to Cornwallis’s letter, Washington desired him to transmit his proposals in writing previous to the meeting of the commissioners, for which purpose he would order a cessation of hostilities for two hours. To this the earl consented, and within the stipulated time he sent a rough draft of the general basis of his proposals. 38 Washington, perceiving that there would probably be no serious disagreement finally, also sent Cornwallis a general basis of terms upon which he should expect him to surrender. 39 Commissioners were appointed to meet in conference at Moore’s house, and hostilities were suspended for the night. The American commissioners were Colonel Laurens, 40 and Viscount De Noailles, a relative of La Fayette’s wife; the British commissioners were Lieutenant-colonel Dundas and Major Ross.

The commissioners met early on the morning of the eighteenth [Oct., 1781.]; but, being unable to adjust the terms of capitulation 41 definitively, only a rough draft of them could be prepared, which was submitted to the consideration of Cornwallis. Washington would not permit the delay that might ensue by leaving these open to further negotiation; he, therefore, had the rough articles fairly transcribed, and sent them to his lordship early on the morning of the nineteenth, with a letter expressing his expectation that they would be signed by eleven o’clock, and that the garrison would march out by two in the afternoon.

Cornwallis was obliged to submit, and at the appointed hour the garrisons at York and Gloucester, the shipping in the harbor, and all the ammunition, stores, &c., were surrendered, after a siege of thirteen days, to the land and naval forces of America and France. The ceremony, on the occasion of the surrender, was exceedingly imposing. The American army was drawn up on the right side of the road leading from Yorktown to Hampton (see map), and the French army on the left. Their lines extended more than a mile in length. Washington, upon his white charger, was at the head of the American column; and Rochambeau, upon a powerful bay horse, was at the head of the French column. A vast concourse of people, equal in number, according to eye-witnesses, to the military, was also assembled from the surrounding country to participate in the joy of the event. Universal silence prevailed as the vanquished troops slowly marched out of their intrenchments, with their colors cased and their drums beating a British tune, and passed between the columns of the combined armies. 42 All were eager to look upon Cornwallis, the terror of the South, 43 in the hour of his adversity. They were disappointed; he had given himself up to vexation and despair, and, feigning illness, he sent General O’Hara with his sword, to lead the vanquished army to the field of humiliation. Having arrived at the head of the line, General O’Hara advanced toward Washington, and, taking off his hat, apologized for the absence of Earl Cornwallis. The commander-in-chief pointed him to General Lincoln for directions. It must have been a proud moment for Lincoln, for only the year before he was obliged to make a humiliating surrender of his army to British conquerors at Charleston. Lincoln conducted the royal troops to the field selected for laying down their arms, and there General O’Hara delivered to him the sword of Cornwallis; Lincoln received it, and then politely handed it back to O’Hara, to be returned to the earl.

The delivery of the colors of the several regiments, twenty-eight in number, was next performed. For this purpose, twenty-eight British captains, each bearing a flag in a case, were drawn up in line. Opposite to them, at a distance of six paces, twenty-eight American sergeants were placed in line to receive the colors. Ensign Wilson of Clinton’s brigade, the youngest commissioned officer in the army (being then only eighteen years of age), was appointed by Colonel Hamilton, the officer of the day, to conduct this interesting ceremony. 44 When Wilson gave the order for the British captains to advance two paces, to deliver up their colors, and the American sergeants to advance two paces to receive them, the former hesitated, and gave as a reason that they were unwilling to surrender their flags to non-commissioned officers. Hamilton, who was at a distance, observed this hesitation, and rode up to inquire the cause. On being informed, he willingly spared the feelings of the British captains, and ordered Ensign Wilson to receive them himself, and hand them to the American sergeants. This scene is depicted in the engraving.

When the colors were surrendered, the whole royal army laid down their arms. It was an exceedingly humiliating task for the captives, for they had been for months enjoying victories under their able commander, and had learned to look upon the rebels with profound contempt. 45 After grounding their arms and laying off their accoutrements, they were conducted back to their lines, and guarded by a sufficient force until they commenced their march for permanent quarters in the interior of Virginia and Maryland. 46

The loss of the British on this occasion was one hundred and fifty-six killed, three hundred and twenty-six wounded, and seventy missing. The whole number surrendered by capitulation was a little more than seven thousand, 47 according to the most reliable authorities, making the total loss between seventy-five and seventy-eight hundred. The combined army employed in the siege consisted of about seven thousand regular American troops, more than five thousand French, and four thousand militia; a total of over sixteen thousand men. Their loss during the siege, of killed and wounded, was only about three hundred. The artillery, and military stores and provisions surrendered, were very considerable. There were seventy-five brass, and one hundred and sixty iron cannons; seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-four muskets; twenty-eight regimental standards (ten of them English, and eighteen German); a large quantity of cannon and musket-balls, bombs, carriages, &c., &c. The military chest contained nearly eleven thousand dollars in specie. 48

On the day succeeding the surrender [Oct. 20, 1781 {original text has "1771".}.], Washington, in general orders, expressed his great approbation of the conduct of both armies. Among the generals whom the commander-in-chief particularly named were Count De Rochambeau, and other distinguished French officers; and Generals Lincoln, Knox, La Fayette, Du Portail, and Steuben, of the American army. 49 He also spoke warmly of Governor Nelson, and expressed his gratitude to him for his essential aid. Joy pervaded all hearts, and that there might be none excluded from a participation in the general thanksgiving, the commander-in-chief ordered that all those who were under arrest or confinement should be immediately set at liberty; 50 and as the next day was the Sabbath, he closed his orders by directing divine service to be performed in the several brigades on the morrow.

ROCHAMBEAU. 51

Congress assembled at an early hour, and the grave orators of that august body could hardly repress huzzas while Secretary Thompson read the letter from Washington announcing the capitulation of Cornwallis. On motion of Edmund Randolph, Congress resolved to go in procession at two o’clock the same day [Oct. 24.] to the Dutch Lutheran Church, "and return thanks to Almighty God for crowning the allied armies of the United States and France with success." A committee was appointed, 52 to whom were referred the letters of Washington, and who were instructed to report resolutions of thanks to the armies and their officers, and to recommend appropriate honors. 53 The committee reported on the twenty-ninth, and Congress resolved that their thanks should be presented to Washington, Rochambeau, and De Grasse, and the officers and soldiers under their respective commands; that a marble column should be erected at Yorktown in commemoration of the event; 54 that two stands of colors taken from Cornwallis should be presented to Washington in the name of the United States; that two pieces of the field ordnance captured at York should be presented to each of the French commanders, Rochambeau and De Grasse; and that the Board of War should present to Lieutenant-colonel Tilghman, in the name of the United States, a horse properly caparisoned, and an elegant sword. Congress also issued a proclamation appointing the thirteenth day of December for a general thanksgiving and prayer throughout the confederacy, on account of this signal mark of Divine favor. Legislative bodies, executive councils, city corporations, and many private societies, presented congratulatory addresses to the commanding generals and their officers; and from almost every pulpit in the land arose the voice of thanksgiving and praise, accompanied the alleluiahs of thousands of worshipers at the altar of the Lord of Hosts.

BRITISH FLAG. 55

The king and his ministers were sorely perplexed when the intelligence reached them. 56 Parliament assembled on the twenty-seventh of November; its first business was a consideration of the news of the disasters in America, which reached ministers officially on Sunday, the twenty-fifth [Nov., 1781.]. Violent debates ensued, and Fox even went so far as to intimate that Lord North was in the pay of the French. The minister indignantly repelled the insinuation, and justified the war on the ground of its justice, and the proper maintenance of British rights. Upon this point he was violently assailed by Burke, who exclaimed, "Good God! are we yet to be told of the rights for which we went to war! Oh, excellent rights! Oh, valuable rights! Valuable you should be, for we have paid dear at parting with you. Oh, valuable rights that have cost Britain thirteen provinces, four islands, 57 one hundred thousand men, and more than seventy millions [three hundred and fifty millions of dollars] of money!" The younger Pitt distinguished himself in this debate, and was a powerful aid to the opposition. On the thirtieth of November, that party proposed the bold measure (last adopted during the Revolution of 1688) of not granting supplies until the ministers should give a pledge to the people that the war in America should cease. This motion, however, was lost by a vote of nearly two to one. Several conflicting propositions were made by both parties, but without any definite result, and on the twentieth of December, Parliament adjourned to the twenty-first of January [1782.].

The French army remained in Virginia (Rochambeau having his head-quarters at Williamsburg), ready to co-operate with the Americans North or South. There they remained until the next summer [1782.], when they joined the Continental army on the Hudson. 58 They proceeded to New England in the autumn, and early in December embarked at Boston for the West Indies. General St. Clair, with a body of troops, was sent to re-enforce General Greene at the South. He was directed to march by the way of Wilmington, and dislodge the enemy there. This he effected, and at the close of 1781 there was not a hostile foot except those of resident Tories and prisoners of war, in all Virginia or North Carolina.

When Washington had completed all his arrangements, he left Yorktown [Nov. 5, 1781.], and hastened to Eltham, the seat of Colonel Bassett, to the bedside of Mr. Custis, the only son of Mrs. Washington. He arrived in time to see him die, and stayed there a few days to mingle his grief with that of the afflicted widow. Mr. Custis was a member of the Virginia Legislature, and was then only twenty-eight years of age. 59 From Eltham, Washington proceeded to Philadelphia by way of Mount Vernon, receiving and answering various public addresses on the way. On the day after his arrival in Philadelphia [Nov. 27.], he went to the State House, and on being introduced into the hall of Congress by two members, he was greeted by a congratulatory address by the president. He remained some time in Philadelphia, and was regarded with reverence by all classes.

In company with Mr. Nelson, I rode to "Moore’s House," where the commissioners of the two armies met to agree upon terms of capitulation. On our way we visited the site of the two redoubts (K and L, on the map) captured respectively by the Americans and French. The visible lines of the one assailed by the French cross the road leading to Moore’s house. On each side of the way the embankments are quite prominent. The remains of the other one, on the river bank, are noticed and delineated on page 313 {original text has "519".}. In the fields farther south, crossing the Hampton road, and extending almost to the old Jamestown road along which the American division of the allied armies approached Yorktown, might be seen a ridge, the remains of the second parallel. In a southwesterly direction, about a mile and a half distant, is the low ground where the armies rested before making a disposition of their forces for attacking Cornwallis.

MOORE’S HOUSE. 60

We next visited the places designated by tradition as the spot where the British laid down their arms. In a field, not more than half a mile southward of the British intrenchments, three tulip poplars were pointed out for many years as indices of the exact place of surrender. The old trees are now gone, but three small ones supply their places. This is on the east side of the Hampton road. In Trumbull’s picture of the Surrender, the house of Governor Nelson is seen. Trumbull visited Yorktown for the purpose of sketching the ground, in 1791, and doubtless had the true location pointed out to him. From the field where the tulip poplars are, however, the house can not be seen, but from a large field on the west side of the Hampton road, sloping in the direction of the "Pigeon Quarter," and about a mile from the British lines (the distance mentioned in history), the house may be plainly seen. It is the opinion of Mr. Nelson and other intelligent gentlemen at Yorktown, that the large field, noted as the spot on the map printed on page 312, is the locality where the captive soldiers laid down their arms, and where the marble column, ordered by Congress, should be erected.

From the field of humiliation we rode back to the village, and after visiting the remains of the elegant dwelling of President Nelson, which was situated near that of the governor, within the British lines, I passed an hour in the venerated mansion of Governor Nelson, printed on page 315. It was erected by the first emigrant Nelson (" Scotch Tom"), and is of imported bricks. Among other relics of the past, I saw upon the walls the mutilated portraits of President Nelson and his lady, the parents of the governor. They were thus injured by the British when they rifled his house at Hanover, whither he had taken his family and furniture for security.

I left Yorktown at two o’clock for Hampton, twenty-four miles distant. Charley was invigorated by rest and abundance of oats, and the road being generally quite level, and in excellent condition, I was only about four hours on the way. The country is an inclined plane sloping toward the ocean, and quite thickly settled. The forests are chiefly of pine, interspersed with oaks, chestnuts, tulip poplars, gums, sycamores, and occasionally an elm. The green holly with its blazing berries, and the equally verdant laurel, every where enliven the forest scenery. I crossed two considerable swamps, and at twilight reached the margin of a third, within a few miles of Hampton. The branches of the tall trees interlaced above, and the amber light in the west, failed to penetrate and mark the pathway. Suddenly the bland air was filled with chilling vapors, which came rolling up from the sea on the wings of a southeast wind, and I was enveloped in absolute darkness in the midst of the broad morass. As at Occaquan, I gave Charley a loose rein, and relied upon his instinct and better sight for safety. His faculties proved trustworthy, and at six o’clock in the evening I was at comfortable lodgings close by the beach, in the old town of Hampton, ninety-six miles southeast of Richmond. 61

Early the next morning I rode to old Point Comfort, 62 two and a half miles distant, notwithstanding heavy masses of clouds were yet rolling in from the ocean, and a chilling mist enveloped every thing as with a shroud. Old Point Comfort is a sandy promontory, which, with Point Willoughby opposite, forms the mouth of the James River. It is a place of public resort in summer as an agreeable watering-place. The fine sandy beach affords delightful bathing grounds, and the cool breezes from the ocean deprive summer of half of its fervor. The extremity of the point, eighty acres in extent, is covered by Fort Monroe, 63 one of the most extensive fortifications in the United States. Within the area of the fort are the officers’ quarters, with neat flower-gardens attached; and over the surface are scattered beautiful live-oaks, isolated and in groves, which give the place a summer aspect, even in mid-winter. Between Point Comfort and the opposite Cape the water is shallow, except in a narrow channel through the bar. Here the ocean tides and the river currents meet, and produce a continual ripple. From this circumstance the name of Rip Raps was given to the spot. In the midst of these, nineteen hundred yards from Fort Monroe, is the half-finished Fort Calhoun, or Castle of the Rip Raps. It was ascertained, while building it, that the ground was unstable, and the heavy masonry began to sink. Immense masses of loose stones have since been piled upon it, to sink it as deep as it will go before completing the walls. In this condition it now remains, and it is to be hoped that not another hour will be employed upon it, except to carry away the stones for the more useful and more noble purpose of erecting an iron-foundery or a cotton-mill. Henceforth our fortresses, and other paraphernalia of war, will have no other useful service to perform than to illustrate the history of a less enlightened age.

Within the bar of the Rip Raps is the spacious harbor called the Hampton Roads, wherein vast navies might ride with safety. Twice hostile fleets have cleft those waters. The first was in October, 1775, when Lord Dunmore, driven by his fears, as we have seen, from Williamsburg, gratified his desire for revenge by destroying the property of the patriots. The people of Hampton anticipated an attack by the British fleet, 64 and applied to the Committee of Safety for assistance. Colonel Woodford, with one hundred Culpepper men, was sent to protect them; but before their arrival, Captain Squires, of the British navy, sent by Dunmore with six tenders, appeared in Hampton Creek [Oct. 24, 1775.]. He commenced a furious cannonade, and under that cover sent armed men in boats to burn the town. Virginia riflemen, concealed in the houses, soon sent so many death-shots that the boats were obliged to return. The tenders were compelled to recede beyond the reach of their rifles, and wait for re-enforcements. Woodford arrived at daybreak on the twenty-fifth, and, momentarily expecting an attack from the enemy, he immediately disposed his men for action. At sunrise the hostile fleet bore in for the shore, and, laying with springs on her cables, commenced a heavy cannonade upon the town, and greatly damaged many of the houses. Woodford commanded his men to fire with caution and sure aim, the vessels being within rifle shot. Men were picked off in every part of the ships, and great terror soon prevailed in the fleet. The cannons were deserted, for every gunner became a target for the sharp-shooters. Unable to withstand such a destructive fire, the British commander ordered the cables to be slipped and the vessels to retreat. The latter movement was difficult, for men seen at the helm or aloft adjusting the sails were singled out and shot down. Many of them retreated to the holds of the vessels, and refused obedience to their commanders when ordered out on the perilous duty. Two of the sloops drifted ashore. Before the fleet could escape, the inhabitants of the town, with Woodford’s corps, sunk five vessels. The victory was complete. 65

ST. JOHN’S CHURCH. 66

In 1813 [June 25.], Hampton was attacked by Admiral Cockburn, with his fleet, and by a force of two thousand men under General Beckwith, who landed at Old Point Comfort. The garrison of the slight fortification at Hampton consisted of four hundred and fifty militia. They were too weak to defend themselves, and retired. The town was given up to pillage at the hands of a renegade corps of French prisoners, who had been promised such a gratification. For two days they desolated Hampton without restraint. Private property was plundered or destroyed; the leading citizens were grossly insulted and abused; females were violated; and in one instance an aged sick man was murdered in the arms of his wife. 67 When filled to satiety, the vultures left Hampton Roads to seek for prey elsewhere.

The easterly wind ceased at noon; the clouds dispersed, and the sun shone out with all the brilliancy and fervor of early June, when I rode back to Hampton from Old Point Comfort. At three o’clock a strong breeze from the west brought back the masses of vapor which had been borne toward the Blue Ridge all night. They came in heavy cumulous clouds, and when, a little before five o’clock, I embarked upon a steam-packet for Norfolk, eighteen miles distant, rain fell copiously. We entered the Elizabeth River at dusk, and arrived at Norfolk a little past six o’clock. 68

VIEW AT THE GREAT BRIDGE. 69

We have already considered the flight of Dunmore from Williamsburg, and his attempt to destroy Hampton, and have alluded to his raising the royal standard at Norfolk, and proclaiming martial law throughout the colony, and freedom to the slaves. He made Norfolk harbor the rendezvous for the British fleet, and determined there to establish the headquarters of ministerial power in the Old Dominion. Previous to making an effort to take possession of the town, he sent a few soldiers and sailors ashore, under cover of the guns of the ships, to carry off John Holt’s printing establishment, which was doing good service for the patriot cause. Holt, though a high churchman, was an ardent and uncompromising Whig. This outrage was committed, and two of Holt’s workmen were taken away prisoners, without resistance from the people. The Tories were numerous, and the Whigs were overawed. The corporation of Norfolk sent a letter of remonstrance to Dunmore; it was answered by insult. 70 This insult was followed by violence. Hampton was attacked, and depredations were committed upon the shores of the Elizabeth and James Rivers. Repelled with spirit, Dunmore resolved to strike a blow of terror. With his motley force he penetrated Princess Anne county, to plunder and lay waste. He was successful, and emboldened thereby, declared open war. All Lower Virginia was aroused, and the government directed its whole attention to the portion of the state thus menaced. It was at this time that Dunmore’s attempt to bring the Indians upon the colonists was made known. The people burned with fierce indignation. Colonel Woodford, who afterward became a brigadier general in the Continental army, was sent with a detachment of minute-men into Norfolk county, and the militia of that section were called to arms. Adjutant Bullit accompanied him. Perceiving these preparations, Dunmore became alarmed. He constructed batteries and intrenchments at Norfolk, armed the blacks and Tories, and ordered the country people to send their cattle to the city for his use, under penalties for disobedience.

On Saturday morning, the ninth of December [1775.], before daylight, Dunmore, who remained at Norfolk, ordered Captains Leslie and Fordyce to attack the redoubt of the patriots. He had been informed that they were few in number, and weak in skill and experience; he, therefore, felt certain of success. 71 When the Virginians had beaten the reveille, Captain Fordyce, with about sixty grenadiers and a corps of regulars, was ordered to the attack. After firing one or two cannons and some musketry, he pressed forward, crossed the Great Bridge, burned the houses and some shingles upon the island, on which the tide-mill now stands, and made an attack upon the guards in the breast-work. The fire of the enemy was returned, and the assailants were thrown into confusion. Fordyce rallied them, and having brought two pieces of cannon over the bridge, and placed them on the island in such a position as to command the breast-work, led his men (about one hundred and twenty in number) steadily across the causeway, keeping up a constant and heavy fire as they approached Woodford’s redoubt. Lieutenant Travis, who commanded in the redoubt, ordered his men to reserve their fire until the enemy came within fifty yards, and then, with sure aim, pour volley after volley upon the assailants as rapidly as possible. Believing the redoubt to be deserted, Fordyce waved his hat over his head, shouted "The day is our own!" and rushed forward toward the breast-work. The order of Lieutenant Travis was obeyed with terrible effect. His men, about ninety in number, rose to their feet and discharged a full volley upon the enemy. The gallant Captain Fordyce, who was marked by the riflemen, fell, pierced by fourteen bullets, within fifteen steps of the breast-works. His followers, greatly terrified, retreated in confusion across the causeway, and were dreadfully galled in their rear.

Captain Leslie, 72 who, with about two hundred and thirty negroes and Tories, had remained upon the island at the west end of the bridge, now rallied the regulars, and kept up the firing of the two field-pieces. Colonel Woodford, with the main body of the Virginians, left the church at the same time, and advanced to the relief of the garrison in the intrenchments. Upon his approaching line the field pieces played incessantly, but the Virginians pressed steadily forward. Colonel Stevens, 73 of the Culpepper battalion, went round to the left, and flanked the enemy with so much vigor that a rout ensued and the battle ended. The enemy left their two field-pieces behind, but took care to spike them with nails, and fled in confusion to their fort on the Norfolk side. The battle lasted only about twenty-five minutes, but was very severe. The number of the enemy slain is not precisely known. Thirty-one killed and wounded fell into the hands of the patriots, and many were carried away by their friends. Gordon says their whole loss was sixty-two. They fought desperately, for they preferred death to captivity, Dunmore having assured them that, if they were caught alive, the savage Virginians would scalp them. 74 It is a remarkable fact that not a single Virginian was killed during the engagement, and only one man was slightly wounded in the hand, notwithstanding the two field-pieces upon the island hurled double-headed shot as far as the church, and cannonaded them with grape-shot as they approached their redoubt. The wounded who fell into the hands of the Virginians were treated with the greatest tenderness, except the Tories, who were made to feel some of the rigors of war.

Distress soon prevailed in the ships; famine menaced them with its keen fangs. Parties sent on shore to procure provisions from the neighboring country were cut off or greatly annoyed by the Virginians, and supplies for the multitude of mouths became daily more precarious. The ships were galled by a desultory fire from the houses, and their position became intolerable. At this juncture the Liverpool frigate, from Great Britain, came into the harbor, and gave boldness to Governor Dunmore. By the captain of the Liverpool, he immediately sent a flag to Colonel Howe, commanding him to cease firing upon the ships and supply the fleet with provisions, otherwise he should bombard the town. The patriots answered by a flat refusal, and the governor prepared to execute his barbarous threat. On the morning of the thirty-first of December [1775.], Dunmore gave notice of his design, in order that women and children, and the Loyalists still remaining, might retire to a place of safety. At four o’clock on the morning of the first of January [1776.], the Liverpool, 75 Dunmore, and two sloops of war, opened a heavy cannonade upon the town, and parties of marines and sailors went on shore and set fire to the warehouses. The wind was blowing from the water, and the buildings being chiefly of wood and filled with pitch and turpentine, the greater part of the compact portion of the city was in flames before midnight. The conflagration raged for fifty hours, and the wretched inhabitants, Whigs and Tories, saw their property and homes licked up by the consumer, and their heads made shelterless in the cold winter air, without the power of staying the fury of the destroyer or saving the necessaries of life. Not content with laying the town in ashes, the petty Nero heightened the terror of the scene and the anguish of the people by a cannonade from the ships during the conflagration. Parties of musketeers, also, went to places where people were collected and attacked them. Horror reigned supreme, and destitution in its worst features there bore rule. Yet a kind Providence guarded the lives of the smitten inhabitants; and during the three days of terror while the fire raged, and cannon-balls were hurled into the town in abundance, not one of the patriot troops was killed, and only three or four women and children were slain in the streets. Seven persons were wounded. 76 The invading parties were uniformly driven back to their ships with loss. In these repulses the intrepid Stevens was conspicuous, and displayed all the courage of a veteran soldier.

Colonel Stevens and his little band remained upon the site of Norfolk, until February [1776.], when, having removed the families and appraised the dwellings which remained, he caused them to be destroyed, that the enemy might have no shelter. Thus the most flourishing town in Virginia was made an utter desolation; 77 but its eligible location insured its phœnix like resurrection, and again, when peace returned, "beauty for ashes" soon characterized the spot. Howe divided his troops; some were stationed at Kemp’s Landing, some at the Great Bridge, and others in Suffolk, whither most of the fugitives from the city fled, and found open-handed hospitality in the interior.

General Andrew Lewis, 78 then in command of a brigade of Virginia troops, was sent by the Committee of Safety to dislodge Dunmore. On the eighth of July, he erected two batteries (one mounting two eighteen pounders, and the other bearing lighter guns), nearly opposite the point on the island where the enemy was encamped. The next morning [July 9, 1776.], at eight o’clock, Lewis gave the signal for attack, by applying a match, himself, to an eighteen pounder. The ball passed through the hull of the Dunmore, which was lying five hundred yards distant; a second shot cut her boatswain in twain, and a third shivered one of her timbers, a splinter from which struck Lord Dunmore, wounded his leg, and smashed his china. Both batteries then opened upon the governor’s fleet, camp, and works. Terror now prevailed in the fleet, and confusion in the camp. Almost every ship slipped its cables, and endeavored to escape. Dunmore’s batteries were silenced; the tents of his camp were knocked down, and terrible breaches were made in his stockade. The assailants ceased firing at nine o’clock, but no signal of surrender being given, it was renewed at meridian.

On leaving the island, Dunmore caused several of his vessels, which were aground, to be burned, and with the remnants of his fleet he sailed out of the Chesapeake, entered the Potomac, and, after plundering and desolating several plantations on that river, above Aquia Creek, 79 he returned to Lynn Haven Bay, where he dismissed some of the ships for the Bermudas, some to the West Indies, and some to St. Augustine, with booty, among which was almost a thousand slaves. He soon joined the naval force in New York, and toward the close of the year sailed for England. 80

After the departure of Dunmore, the Virginia coast enjoyed comparative quiet until 1779 [May 9.], when a British fleet, under Admiral Sir George Collier, entered Hampton Roads. He sailed up the Elizabeth River and attacked Fort Nelson, which had been erected by the Virginians a little below Portsmouth to secure that place, Norfolk, and the navy-yard at Gosport from attack. The fort was garrisoned by about one hundred and fifty men under Major Thomas Matthews, who, on the approach of Collier, and General Matthews, who commanded the British land forces, abandoned it, and retreated to the Dismal Swamp, leaving the American flag flying from the ramparts The British took possession of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Gosport, and Suffolk, on the eleventh, all being abandoned by the Virginians. Great quantities of stores, ammunition and cannons, fell into the hands of the invaders. A large quantity of naval stores were carried away; the residue, and a great quantity of tobacco, were burned or otherwise destroyed. 81 After pillaging Portsmouth and destroying Suffolk, the fleet, with General Matthews and his land forces, went to sea, returned to New York, and assisted Sir Henry Clinton in taking possession of the fortresses on Stony and Verplanck’s Points, on the Hudson.

Again, in 1780, hostile vessels were in the Elizabeth River. Brigadier-general Leslie with about three thousand troops from New York, landed at Portsmouth [Oct.], and took possession of every kind of public property there and in the vicinity. Leslie was to co-operate with Cornwallis, who proposed to enter Virginia from the south. He did not remain long, for Cornwallis, hearing of the defeat of Ferguson at King’s Mountain, hastily retreated; and Leslie, on being advised of this, left for Charleston [Nov. 22, 1780.], for the purpose of joining the earl in the Carolinas. Again, in 1781, hostile troops, under Arnold, were on the shores of the Elizabeth. That expedition we will consider presently.

I left the Great Bridge at noon, and rode to Deep Creek, a small village on the northern verge of the Dismal Swamp, nine miles distant. 82 There the Dismal Swamp Canal terminates, and far into the gloomy recesses this work opens an avenue for the vision. I ardently desired to go to Drummond’s Lake, lying in the center of the swamp, around which clusters so much that is romantic and mysterious; but want of time obliged me to be content to stand on the rough selvedge of the morass and contemplate with wonder the magnificent cypresses, junipers, oaks, gums, and pines which form the stately columns of the grand and solemn aisles in this mysterious temple of nature. 83 Below waved the tall reeds, and the tangled shrubbery of the gall-bush and laurel; and up the massive trunks and spreading branches of the forest-monarchs crept the woodbine, the ivy, and the muscadine, covering with fretwork and gorgeous tracery the broad arches from which hung the sombre moss, like trophy banners in ancient halls. A deep silence prevailed, for it was winter-time, and buzzing insects and warbling birds were absent or mute. No life appeared in the vast solitude, except occasionally a gray squirrel, a partridge, or a scarlet taniger, the red plumage of the latter flashing like a fire-brand as it flitted by.