True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER VIII.

  QUEBEC.

  General Carleton, seeing that Montgomery's whole force was retainedidle before St. John's, began to hope that the winter would come tohis assistance before the invaders had made any serious progress.Unfortunately he had not reckoned on the utter incapacity of the officerin command of Fort Chamblee. Major Stopford of the Seventh Regiment had160 men and a few artillerymen, and the fort was strong and wellprovided with provisions. American spies had found the inhabitantsaround the place favorable to the Americans. Major Brown was sent downby Montgomery with a small detachment, and, being joined by theinhabitants, sat down before the fort. They had only two six-pounders,and could have effected nothing had the fort been commanded by a man ofbravery and resources. Such was not the character of its commander, who,after a siege of only a day and a half, surrendered the place with allits stores, which were of inestimable value to the invaders, who wereupon the edge of giving up the siege of the fort; their ammunition beingentirely exhausted; but the six tons of gunpowder, the seventeen cannon,mortars, and muskets which fell into their hands enabled them to carryon the siege of St. John's with renewed vigor. There was no excusewhatever for the conduct of Major Stopford in allowing these stores tofall into the hands of the Americans; as, even had he not possessed thecourage to defend the fort, he might, before surrendering, have thrownthe whole of the ammunition into the river, upon which there was a safesally-port, where he could have carried on the operation entirelyunmolested by the enemy. The colors of the Seventh Regiment werecaptured and sent to Congress as the first trophy of the war.

  The siege of St. John's was now pushed on by Montgomery with vigor.Colonel Maclean, with 800 Indians and Canadians, attempted to relieveit, crossing the St. Lawrence in small boats. On nearing the other bank,they were received by so heavy a fire by the Americans posted there thatthey were obliged to retire without effecting a landing. Provisions andammunition were now running short in St. John's, there was no hopewhatever of relief from the outside, and the officer commanding wastherefore obliged to surrender on November 14, after a gallant defense.

  As there were only some fifty or sixty regulars in Montreal, GeneralCarleton was unable to defend that town, and, upon the news of the fallof St. John's, he at once retired to Quebec, and Montreal was occupiedby the Americans. In the meantime another expedition had been dispatchedby the Americans under Arnold. This officer, with 1500 men, had startedfor Quebec from a point 130 miles north of Boston. Suffering enormousfatigue and hardship, the force made its way up the river; past rapids,cataracts, and through swamps they dragged and carried their boats andstores. They followed the bed of the river up to its source, and then,crossing the watershed, descended the Chaudiere and Duloup rivers on tothe St. Lawrence, within a few miles of Quebec.

  This was a wonderful march--one scarcely equaled in the annals ofmilitary history. Crossing the St. Lawrence in canoes, Arnold encampedwith his little force upon the heights of Abraham. Such a daringattempt could not have been undertaken had not the Americans been awareof the extreme weakness of the garrison at Quebec, which consisted onlyof 50 men of the Seventh Regiment, 240 of the Canadian militia, abattalion of seamen from the ships-of-war, under the command of CaptainHamilton of the _Lizard_, 250 strong, and the colonial volunteers,under Colonel Maclean.

  The fortifications were in a ruinous condition. It was fortunate thatColonel Maclean, who had come from the Sorrel, upon the surrender of St.John's, by forced marches, arrived on the very day on which Arnoldappeared before the city. Directly he arrived Arnold attacked the cityat the gate of St. Louis, but was sharply repulsed. He then desistedfrom active operations and awaited the arrival of Montgomery, who wasmarching down from Montreal. The flotilla in which Carleton wasdescending the river was attacked by the Americans, who came down theSorrel, and was captured, with all the troops and military stores whichit was bringing down. General Carleton himself escaped in a small boatunder cover of night, and reached Quebec.

  Captain Wilson's company had been attached to the command of ColonelMaclean, and with it arrived in Quebec in safety.

  Upon the arrival of Montgomery with his army the city was summoned tosurrender. A strong party in the town were favorable to the invaders,but General Carleton treated the summons with contempt, and turnedall the inhabitants who refused to join in the defense of the cityoutside the town.

  The winter had now set in in earnest, and the difficulties of thebesiegers were great. Arnold's force had been much weakened by thehardships that they had undergone, Montgomery's by desertions; thebatteries which they erected were overpowered by the fire of thedefenders, and the siege made no progress whatever. The men becamemore and more disaffected and mutinous. Many of them had nearly servedthe time for which they had enlisted, and Montgomery feared that theywould leave him when their engagement came to an end. He in vaintempted the besieged to make a sally. Carleton was so certain thatsuccess would come by waiting that he refused to allow himself tohazard it by a sortie.

  The weather was fighting for him, and the besiegers had before them onlythe alternatives of taking the place by storm or abandoning the siegealtogether. They resolved upon a storm. It was to take place at daybreakon December 31. Montgomery determined to make four attacks--two falseand two real ones. Colonel James Livingstone, with 200 Canadians, was toappear before St. John's gate, and a party under Colonel Brown were tofeign a movement against the upper town, and from high ground there wereto send up rockets as the signal for the real attacks to commence--thatled by Montgomery from the south and that under Arnold from thenorthwest--both against the lower town.

  The false attacks were made too soon, the rockets being fired half anhour before the main columns reached their place of attack. The Britishwere not deceived; but, judging these attacks to be feints, left but asmall party to oppose them and marched the bulk of their forces downtoward the lower town. Their assistance, however, came too late, for,before they arrived, the fate of the attack was already decided. TheAmericans advanced under circumstances of great difficulty. A furiouswind, with cutting hail, blew in their faces; the ground was slipperyand covered with snow.

  Half an hour before the English supports arrived on the spot Montgomery,with his leading company, reached the first barricade, which wasundefended; passing through this, they pressed on toward the next. Theroad leading to it was only wide enough for five or six persons abreast.On one side was the river, on the other a steep cliff; in front was alog hut with loop-holes for musketry, and a battery of twothree-pounders. It was held by a party of 30 Canadians and 8 militiamenunder John Coffin, with 9 sailors under Bairnsfeather, the captain ofthe transport, to work the guns. Montgomery, with 60 men, pushed on at arun to carry the battery; but, when within fifty yards Bairnsfeatherdischarged his pieces, which were loaded with grape-shot, with deadlyaim. Montgomery, his aid-de-camp Macpherson, Lieutenant Cheeseman, and10 others fell dead at the first discharge, and with them the soul ofthe expedition fled. The remaining officers endeavored to get the men toadvance, but none would do so, and they fell back without losing anotherman. So completely cowed were they that they would not even carry offthe bodies of their general and his companions. These were brought intoQuebec next day and buried with the honors of war by the garrison.

  The force under Arnold was far stronger than that under Montgomery. TheCanadian guard appointed to defend the first barrier fled at theapproach, but the small body of sailors fought bravely and were allkilled or wounded. Arnold was shot through the leg and disabled. Morgan,who commanded the advanced companies, led his men on and carried thesecond barrier after an obstinate resistance. They were attacking thethird when Maclean with his men from the upper town arrived. The Britishthen took the offensive, and drove the enemy back, and a party, goinground, fell upon their rear. Fifty were killed in Arnold's column, 400taken prisoners, and the rest retreated in extreme disorder.

  Thus ended the assault upon Quebec--an assault which was all buthopeless from the first, but in which Americans showe
d but little valorand determination. In fact, throughout the war, it may be said that theAmericans, when fighting on the defensive behind trees andintrenchments, fought stubbornly; but that they were feeble in attackand wholly incapable of standing against British troops in the open.

  It would now have been easy for Carleton to have sallied out and takenthe offensive, but he preferred holding Quebec quietly. He might haveeasily driven the Americans from their position before the walls; but,with the handful of troops under his orders, he could have done nothingtoward carrying on a serious campaign in the open.

  Until spring came, and the rivers were opened, no re-enforcements couldreach him from England, while the Americans could send any number oftroops into Canada. Carleton, therefore, preferred to wait quietlywithin the walls of Quebec, allowing the winter, hardships, and disunionto work their natural effects upon the invaders.

  Arnold sent to Washington to demand 10,000 more troops, with siegeartillery. Several regiments were sent forward, but artillery could notbe spared. Eight regiments entered Canada, but they found that, insteadof meeting, as they had expected, an enthusiastic reception from theinhabitants, the population was now hostile to them. The exactions ofthe invading army had been great, and the feeling in favor of theEnglish was now all but universal.

  On May 5 two frigates and a sloop-of-war made their way up the riverto Quebec. The Americans endeavored to embark their sick andartillery above the town. Re-enforced by the marines, the garrisonsallied out and attacked the enemy, who fled with precipitation,leaving their provisions, cannon, five hundred muskets, and twohundred sick behind them. The British pursued them until they reachedthe mouth of the Sorrel.

  The arrival of the fleet from England brought news of what had takenplace since Captain Wilson's company had marched from Boston, a shorttime after the battle of Bunker's Hill. Immediately after the battle thecolonists had sent two deputies, Penn and Lee, with a petition toParliament for the restoration of peace. This petition was supported bya strong body in Parliament. The majority, however, argued that, fromthe conduct of the Americans, it was clear that they aimed atunconditional, unqualified, and total independence. In all theirproceedings they had behaved as if entirely separated from GreatBritain. Their professions and petition breathed peace and moderation;their actions and preparations denoted war and defiance; every attemptthat could be made to soften their hostility had been in vain; theirobstinacy was inflexible; and the more England had given in to theirwishes, the more insolent and overbearing had their demands become. Thestamp tax had been repealed, but their ill will had grown rather thanabated. The taxations on imports had been entirely taken off save on onesmall item; but, rather than pay this, they had accumulated arms andammunition, seized cannon belonging to the king, and everywhere preparedfor armed resistance. Only two alternatives remained for the Britishnation to adopt--either to coerce the colonists to submission or togrant them their entire independence.

  These arguments were well founded. The concessions which had been madehad but encouraged the colonists to demand more. No good whatever wouldhave come from entering into negotiation; there remained but the twoalternatives. It would have been far better had Parliament, instead ofdeciding on coercion, withdrawn altogether from the colonies, foralthough hitherto the Americans had shown no great fighting qualities,it was clear that so small an army as England could spare could notpermanently keep down so vast a country if the people were determinedupon independence. They might win every battle,--might overpower everyconsiderable force gathered against them,--but they could only enforcethe king's authority over a mere fractional portion of so great an area.England, however, was unaccustomed to defeat; her spirit in those dayswas proud and high; and by a large majority Parliament voted for thecontinuance of the war. The next step taken was one unworthy of thecountry. It tended still further to embitter the war, and it added tothe strength of the party in favor of the colonists at home. Attemptswere made by the government to obtain the services of large numbers offoreign troops. Negotiations were entered into with Russia, Holland,Hesse, and other countries. Most of these proved ineffectual, but aconsiderable number of troops was obtained from Hesse.

  The news of these proceedings excited the Americans to renewed efforts.The force under Washington was strengthened, and he took possession ofDorchester Heights, commanding the town of Boston. A heavy cannonadewas opened on the city. The British guns answered it, but the Americanposition gave them an immense advantage. General Howe, who was incommand, at first thought of attempting to storm the heights, but thetremendous loss sustained at the battle of Bunker's Hill deterred himfrom the undertaking. His supineness during the past four months hadvirtually lost the American colonies to England. He had under hiscommand 8000 troops, who could have routed, with ease, theundisciplined levies of Washington. Instead of leading his men outagainst the enemy, he had suffered them to be cooped up for months inthe city, and had failed to take possession of the various heightscommanding the town. Had he done this Boston might have resisted aforce many times as strong as that which advanced against it, and therewas now nothing left for the English but to storm the heights withenormous loss or to evacuate the city.

  The first was the alternative which had been chosen when the Americansseized Bunker's Hill; the second was that which was now adopted.

  Having adopted this resolution, Howe carried it out in a manner whichwould in itself be sufficient to condemn him as a military leader.Nothing was done to destroy the vast stores of arms and ammunition, andtwo hundred and fifty pieces of cannon were left for the colonists touse against England. No steps were taken to warn ships arriving fromEngland of the surrender of the town. The consequence was that, inaddition to the vast amount of stores captured in the town, numbers ofthe British storeships fell into the hands of the Americans--among thema vessel which, in addition to carbines, bayonets, gun-carriages, andother stores, had on board more than seventy tons of powder, whileWashington's whole stock was all but exhausted.

  But worse even than this hurried and unnecessary abandonment of vastmunitions of war was the desertion of the loyalist population. Bostonwas full of loyalists, among whom were many of the wealthier andbetter-born persons in the colony, who, from the commencement of thetroubles had left their homes, their fortunes, and their families torally round the standard of their sovereign. The very least that Howecould have done for these loyal men would have been to have entered intosome terms of capitulation with Washington, whereby they might have beenpermitted to depart to their homes and to the enjoyment of theirproperty. Nothing of the sort was attempted, and the only choice offeredto a loyalist was to remain in the town, exposed to certain insult andill treatment, perhaps to death, at the hands of the rebels, or to leavein the transports for England or Halifax and to be landed here pennilessand starving.

  Howe's conduct in this was on a piece with his behavior throughout thecampaign; but he was little, if at all, inferior to the other generals,who vied with each other in incapacity and folly. Never in the wholehistory of England were her troops led by men so inefficient, sosluggish, and so incapable as those who commanded her armies in theAmerican Revolutionary War.

  The first ships from England which arrived at Quebec were followed, afew days later, by the _Niger_ and _Triton_, convoy transports, withtroops. The British now took the offensive in earnest. From the westCaptain Forster marched from Detroit, with 40 men of the EighthRegiment, 100 Canadians, and some Indians, against a pass called theCedars, situated fifteen leagues above Montreal. This was held by 400men with two cannon. As soon as the British force opened fire theAmericans surrendered. The following day Forster's force, advancing,came upon 140 men under Major Sherbourne, who were marching tore-enforce the garrison at the Cedars. These were forced to retreat and100 of them taken prisoners.

  Arnold, with 700 men, advanced against the British force. The Britishofficer, fearing that in case of an attack the Indians with him mightmassacre the prisoners, released the whole of them, 474 in number, underthe pr
omise that an equal number of British prisoners should bereturned. This engagement was shamefully broken by the Americans, whoraised a number of frivolous excuses, among others that prisoners takenby the British were ill treated--an accusation which excited theindignation of the prisoners themselves, some of whom wrote to membersof Congress, stating that nothing could be kinder or more courteous thanthe treatment which they received.

  While Forster was advancing toward Montreal from the west, Carletonwas moving up against the Americans at Sorrel from Quebec. At thedeath of Montgomery, Wooster had taken the command of the mainAmerican force. He had been succeeded by Thompson, but the latterdying of smallpox, Sullivan took his place. The new commanderdetermined to take the offensive against the English, and dispatched aforce of about 2000 men to attack General Fraser, who held a post at aplace called Three Rivers.

  A Canadian peasant brought news to General Fraser of the approach of theAmericans, and as he had received re-enforcements from below hedetermined to anticipate their attack. His movements were completelysuccessful. Some of the Americans fought well, but the rest dispersedwith but little resistance. Two hundred were killed and 150 takenprisoners. The rest succeeded in returning to Sorrel.

  The main body of the British army now came up the river in their ships,and, as they approached Sorrel, Sullivan broke up his camp andretreated. At the same time Arnold, who commanded at Montreal, evacuatedthe town and joined Sullivan's army at St. John's.

  Had the English pushed forward with any energy the whole of the Americanarmy of invasion would have fallen into their hands. They werecompletely broken in spirits, suffering terribly from sickness, and werewholly incapable of making any defense. Burgoyne, who commanded theadvance of the English army, moved forward very slowly, and theAmericans were enabled to take to their boats and cross, first toIsle-aux-Noix and then to Crown Point. An American historian, who sawthem after they landed, says: "At the sight of so much privation anddistress I wept until I had no more power to weep. I did not look into atent or hut in which I did not find either a dead or dying man. Of about5000 men full half were invalids. In little more than two months theyhad lost by desertion and death more than 5000 men."

  Captain Wilson and his company were not present with the advance of theBritish troops. General Howe, after evacuating Boston, had sailed withhis army to Halifax, there to wait until a large body of re-enforcementsshould be sent in the spring from England. General Carleton had, in hisdispatches, mentioned favorably the services which the little company ofloyalists from Boston had performed, and Lord Howe wrote requesting thatthe company should be sent down by ship to Halifax, as he was about tosail from New York to undertake operations on a large scale, and shouldbe glad to have with him a body of men accustomed to scouting andacquainted with the country. Accordingly, the company was embarked in atransport and reached Halifax early in June. On the 11th they sailedwith the army and arrived at Sandy Hook on the 29th. On July 3 the armylanded on Staten Island, opposite Long Island, and soon afterward LordHowe, brother of General Howe, arrived with the main army from England,raising the total force to nearly 30,000 men. It consisted of twobattalions of light infantry, two of grenadiers, the Fourth, Fifth,Tenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-seventh,Thirty-fifth, Thirty-eighth, Fortieth, Forty-second, Forty-third,Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-ninth, Fifty-second, Fifty-fifth,Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth regiments of foot, part of the Forty-sixthand Seventy-first regiments, and the Seventeenth Regiment of lightdragoons. There were, besides, two battalions of volunteers from NewYork, each 1000 strong. Had this force arrived, as it should have done,three months earlier, it might have achieved great things; but the delayhad enabled the Americans to make extensive preparations to meet thecoming storm.

  Lord Howe brought with him a communication from Parliament, giving himand his brother full power to treat with the Americans on any termswhich they might think fit. Upon his arrival Lord Howe addressed aletter to Dr. Franklin, informing him of the nature of hiscommunication, expressing hopes that he would find in America the samedisposition for peace that he brought with him, and requesting his aidto accomplish the desired end. Dr. Franklin, in answer, informed LordHowe that, "prior to the consideration of any proposition for friendshipor peace, it would be required that Great Britain should acknowledge theindependence of America, should defray the expense of the war, andindemnify, the colonists for all damages committed."

  After such a reply as this Lord Howe had no alternative but to commencehostilities, which he did by landing the army in Gravesend Bay, LongIsland. The enemy offered no opposition to the landing, but retreated atonce, setting fire to all the houses and granaries, and taking up aposition on the wooded heights which commanded the line by which theEnglish must advance.

  The American main force, 15,000 strong, was posted on a peninsulabetween Mill Creek and Wallabout Bay, and had constructed a strong lineof intrenchments across the end of the peninsula. The intrenchments werestrengthened by abattis and flanked by strong redoubts. Five thousandremained to guard this post, and 10,000, under General Puttenham,advanced to hold the line of wooded hills which run across the island.

  In the center of the plain, at the foot of these hills, stood thevillage of Flatbush.

  The Hessian division of the British army, under General De Heister,advanced against this, while General Clinton, with the right wing of theEnglish army, moved forward to attack the enemy's left.

  This force marched at nine o'clock at night on August 26; General SirWilliam Howe himself accompanied it. The line of hills trended awaygreatly to the left, and the enemy had neglected to secure the passesover the hills on this flank; consequently, at nine o'clock in themorning, the British passed the range of hills without resistance, andoccupied Bedford in its rear. Had Sir William Howe now pushed onvigorously, the whole of Puttenham's force must have been captured.

  In the meantime the Hessians from Flatbush attacked the center of theAmericans, and after a warm engagement, routed them and drove them intothe woods with a loss of three pieces of cannon.

  On the British left General Grant also advanced, and at midnight carrieda strong pass on the enemy's left. Retiring, they held a still strongerposition further back and offered a fierce resistance until the fires atBedford showed that the English had obtained a position almost in theirrear, when they retreated precipitately.

  Sketch of the British Position on Long Island.]

  The victory was a complete one, but it had none of the consequenceswhich would have attended it had the English pushed forward withenergy after turning the American left. Six pieces of cannon werecaptured and 2000 men killed or taken prisoners. The English lost 70killed and 230 wounded.

  So impetuously did the English attack that even Sir William Howeadmitted that they could have carried the intrenchments. He alleges hedid not permit them to do so, because he intended to take the positionby regular approaches and wished therefore to avoid the loss of lifewhich an immediate assault would have occasioned. On the 27th and 28thregular approaches were commenced, but on the 29th, under cover of afog, the Americans embarked in boats and succeeded in carrying the wholeof their force, without the loss of a man, across to the mainland.

  The escape of this body of men was disgraceful in the extreme to theEnglish commanders. They had a great fleet at their disposal, and hadthey placed a couple of frigates in the East River, between Long Islandand New York, the escape would have been impossible, and GeneralWashington and his army of 15,000 men must have been taken prisoners.Whether this misfortune would have proved conclusive of the war it isnow too late to speculate; but so splendid an opportunity was neverbefore let slip by an English general, and the negligence was the moreinexcusable inasmuch as the fleet of boats could be seen lying alongsideof the American position. Their purpose must have been known, and theycould at any moment have been destroyed by the guns of a ship-of-wartaking up its position outside them.

  Lord Howe dispatched the American General Sullivan, who had been takenpriso
ner on Long Island, to Congress, repeating his desire to treat. Acommittee of three members accordingly waited on Lord Howe, who informedthem that it was the most ardent wish of the king and the government ofGreat Britain to put an end to the dissatisfaction between the mothercountry and the colonists. To accomplish this desire every act ofParliament which was considered obnoxious to the colonists shouldundergo a revisal, and every just cause of complaint should be removed,if the colonists would declare their willingness to submit to theauthority of the British government. The committee replied that it wasnot America which had separated herself from Great Britain, but GreatBritain had separated herself from America. The latter had neverdeclared herself independent until the former had made war upon her, andeven if Congress were willing to place America in her former situation,it could not do so, as the Declaration of Independence had been made inconsequence of the congregated voice of the whole people, by whom aloneit could be abolished. The country was determined not to return underthe domination of England.

  The negotiations were therefore broken off. Lord Howe published adeclaration to the people of America, giving the answer of the committeeto his offer of reconciliation. He acquainted them with the fact thatthe parent country was willing to receive into its bosom and protectionall who might be willing to return to their former obedience. In takingthis step, Lord Howe was convinced that a majority of the inhabitants ofAmerica were still willing to enter into an accommodation of thedifferences between the two powers, and the conviction was not illfounded. The declaration, however, produced but little effect, for thedominant section, that resolved to break off all connection withEngland, had acquired the sole management of affairs, and no offerswhich could possibly have been made would have been accepted by them.

  Convinced that all further negotiations would be ineffectual, Lord Howeprepared to carry his army across from Long Island to New York, wherethe American army had taken up their post after the retreat from LongIsland. The armies were separated by the East River, with a breadth ofabout thirteen hundred yards. A cannonade was kept up for several days.On September 13 some ships-of-war were brought up to cover the passage.Washington, seeing the preparations, began to evacuate the city and toabandon the strong intrenchments which he had thrown up. At eleveno'clock on the morning of the 15th the men-of-war opened a heavy fire,and Clinton's division, consisting of 4000 men in eighty-four boats,sailed up the river, landed on Manhattan Island at a place called Kipp'sBay, and occupied the heights of Inclenberg, the enemy abandoning theirintrenchments at their approach. General Washington rode toward Kipp'sBay to take command of the troops stationed there, but found the men whohad been posted at the lines running away, and the brigades which shouldhave supported them flying in every direction, heedless of the exertionsof their generals.

  Puttenham's division of 4000 men was still in the lower city, and wouldbe cut off unless the British advance should be checked. Washingtontherefore made the greatest efforts to rally the fugitives and to getthem to make a stand to check the advancing enemy, but in vain; for, assoon as even small bodies of redcoats were seen advancing, they brokeand fled in panic.

  Howe, as usual, delayed giving orders for an advance, and thus permittedthe whole of Puttenham's brigade, who were cut off and must have beentaken prisoners, to escape unharmed. And thus, with comparatively littleloss, the Americans drew off, leaving behind them only a few heavycannon and some bayonets and stores.

  So rapid had been their flight at the approach of the English that onlyfifteen were killed, two men falling on the English side.