battle on which I turned off and the Gov and C Helm towards the Fort- when Capt Helm says Gentlemen don't be warm, strive to save many lives which may be usefull to their country which will unavoidably fall in case you don't agree on which we again conferd - G Hamilton said, is there nothing to be done but fighting-Yes, Sir, I will send you such articles as I think proper to allow, if you accept them, well — I will allow you half an hour to consider on them on which Ct Helm came with me to take them to G. H.- having assembled my officers I sent the following articles viz!

1st Lt. Gov. Hamilton engages to deliver up to Col. Clark Fort Sackville as it is at present with all the stores, ammunition, provisions, &

2nd. The Garrison will deliver themselves up Pris" of War to march out with their arms accoutrements, Knapsacks &c

3. The Garrison to be delivered up tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. 4th. Three days to be allowed to the Garrison to settle their accounts with the traders of this place and inhabitants.

5. The officers of the Garrison to be allowed their necessary baggage &c. (signed) Post Vincent 24th Feb 1779

G. R. CLARK,

Within the limitted time Capt. Helm returned with the articles signed thus, viz!

Agreed to for the following reasons, remoteness from succours, the state and quantity of Provisions & the unanimity of officers and men on its expediency, the Honble terms allow and lastly the confidence in a generous Enemy. (signed) H. HAMILTON Lt Gov & Superintend

Journal of Colonel Clark, in American Historical Review (New York, etc., 1896), I, 91–94 passim.

202. A Foreign Officer well Received (1778-1779)

BY GENERAL FREDERICK WILLIAM, BARON VON STEUBEN

(TRANSLATED BY W. L. STONE, 1891)

Steuben was a German officer who had won distinction in the Seven Years' War and was invited to America to systematize the drill and tactics of the army. His great services were well rewarded by Congress, and he spent the rest of his life in America. Bibliography: Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, VI, 515; Friedrich Kapp, Life of Steuben; Channing and Hart, Guide, §§ 138, 139.- For other accounts of the army, see ch. xxviii and No. 200 above.

UPON

[July 4, 1779.]

PON my arrival at the army I was . . . received with more marks of distinction than I had expected. General Washington came some miles to meet me and accompanied me to my quarters, where I found an officer and 25 men on guard. On my remonstrating against this on the ground that I was simply to be regarded as a volunteer, he replied in the most courteous manner that the entire army took pleasure in protecting such volunteers. He presented Major-General Lord Stirling and several other generals to me, and also Lieutenant-Colonel Fernans and Major Walker, whom Congress had designated as my adjutant-generals. On the same day my name was given to the army as the password, and on the following day the army turned out, General Washington accompanying me to review it. In a word, if Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick or the first field-marshal of Europe had arrived in my place he could not have been received with more marks of distinction than I was.

My services as a volunteer lasted no longer than five weeks, during which I drilled the army and made various dispositions in it which met with such approbation that I received my commission as a major-general on the 26th of April. This was also accompanied at the same time with another commission of inspector-general of all the armies of the United States. My salary was now fixed at 16,400 French livres; while, in addition, my table and all of my official staff were maintained free of cost by a commissary of our own, and furnished with everything needful. Moreover, 22 horses for myself and equipage, 1 captain of horse, 2 lieutenants, and 40 dragoons to act as a body-guard were assigned to me by Congress. Furthermore, my adjutants and officers received the requisite number of horses and servants commensurate with their rank. I have 2 adjutant-generals, 2 inspection-adjutants, and 2 secretaries whose salaries are paid by Congress. . . .

Flattering as these decided marks of distinction have been, it only, my friend, makes me the more desirous to merit them. As far as my mental faculties and bodily vigor will allow, I shall unremittingly devote them to fulfilling the demands of a nation which has honored me with such great confidence. No difficulties, no troubles, no danger, shall, nor can they, prevent my success. My department is extensive, and one eighth of the world seem to think that my talents may be of service to them. Thank God that up to the present they have been; and cheerfully will I die for a nation that has so highly honored me with its confi

dence. Up to the present time all of my undertakings have progressed successfully, and I can say that the trust reposed in me by the army increases daily. I commanded the left wing in the first engagement of the battle of Monmouth last year, and was so fortunate as to turn the day in our favor; and in all the smaller engagements, both of the last and present campaigns, I have been lucky enough to have all the soldiers anxious to be under my command. Last winter I completed the "Infantry and Cavalry Tactics," which were at once printed and promulgated.

Congress testified its thanks to me, both by a letter of acknowledgment, which was published in all the newspapers, and by a present of two saddle-horses and 4000 thalers (a thaler is 5 livre and 10 sous); and not only my adjutants, but even my secretaries, received gratuities. . .

I am at present on a tour of inspection for the purpose not only of reviewing all the regiments, but of introducing the system laid down in my tactics. Indeed, my friend, I have been fortunate in everything I have here undertaken. I am now fifth in rank as general; and if my career be not ended by a fever or by half an ounce of lead, the possibilities are vast enough to satisfy the most ambitious. Two or three years of toil, and then, my friend, you must promise to visit me in Paris; and there we will discuss the question whether we are to dine together in Europe or in America. Oh! my dearest F, why have I wasted my years in such a manner! Two years of work—if one is not afraid of toil and danger - can make a man successful. Experience has convinced me of this; nor can I forgive myself for my past indolence.

What a beautiful, what a happy country this is! Without kings, without prelates, without blood-sucking farmer-generals, and without idle barons! Here everybody is prosperous. Poverty is an unknown evil. Indeed, I should become too prolix were I to give you an account of the prosperity and happiness of these people. The account of them by Abbé Reynal is not entirely accurate, but it is the best. Read it and judge for yourself. . . .

...

. . I must candidly admit to you that six foreign officers cause more trouble to me here than two hundred American ones; and indeed most of the foreigners have so utterly lost their credit, that it is daily becoming more difficult to employ foreign officers. A large number of German barons and French marquises have already sailed away; and I am always nervous and apprehensive when a baron or a marquis announces himself. While here we are in a republic; and Mr. Baron does not count a farthing more than Mister Jacob or Mister Peter. Indeed, German and French

noses can hardly accustom themselves to such a state of things! Our general of artillery [Knox], for instance, was a bookbinder in Boston. He is a worthy man, thoroughly understands his trade, and fills his present position with much credit.

Baron von Kalbe and myself are now the only foreign generals in the United States service; and Kalbe, who has an income of over 30,000 livres in France, will resign at the end of this campaign.

Finally, my friend, I will only state to you my prospects and then close my letter. I will finish the war here, or it will finish me. Without doubt England, at the utmost, can continue the game but two years longer. It will then be my care to put the army and the militia in the thirteen provinces on a uniform and solid footing; and this having been accomplished, I shall render an account to Congress as to what we owe each other. My ability to keep up my appointments on 16,400 livres is assured to me for life. Congress has promised me, not gifts, but a landed estate either in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, two of the best provinces. A considerable pension from France, after the (successful) termination of the war, was pledged to me by the French Court before my departure for America; besides which, I can depend upon receiving a substantial gratuity especially from the thirteen provinces. To acquire all this requires on my part only three years, at the farthest, of life, health, steadfastness of purpose and courage. The first two conditions do not depend upon me the last two are within my power and control. And then, my friend, when these have been fulfilled! Then shall I see you in Europe; and then we can talk the matter over, and decide whether you shall in future dine with me in Paris or Philadelphia!

Believe me, my friend, this globe of ours is not so large as we imagine it! An ant does not deserve its food if it is too lazy to seek it at the other side of its hill; and I have already wasted fourteen years of my life. Now, is Canada my hunting-lodge; Georgia my country-seat; and this strip of land the eighth of the world. At each of these extreme ends an order signed by me will be executed. This is somewhat flattering to an ambitious man; and you can, therefore, recognize your friend! When you write to me, my best of friends, address your letters . . . "To His Excellence, the honorable Baron of Steuben, InspectorGeneral and Major-General of the Armies of the United States in North America."

William L. Stone, translator, Letters of Brunswick and Hessian Officers dur ing the American Revolution (Albany, 1891), 244–255 passim.

203. A Warning against Conciliation (1778)

BY GOVERNOR PATRICK HENRY

No account of the Revolution would be complete without some quotation from Patrick Henry, the southern counterpart of Samuel Adams, member of Congress, governor, and leader of the patriots. Unfortunately there is no text preserved of a single one of his glowing speeches. The extract below, from a letter to Richard Henry Lee, shows his spirit: the issue was a plan of conciliation proposed by Great Britain after the French alliance. Bibliography: William Wirt Henry, Patrick Henry; Moses Coit Tyler, Patrick Henry; Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, VI, 107. Bibliography of the plan of conciliation: Wharton, Diplomatic Correspondence, I, ch. iii; Channing and Hart, Guide, § 139.

Во

WILLIAMSBURG June 18th, 1778.

your last letters came to hand to-day. I felt for you, seeing

Boning the order in which the balloting placed the dele

gates in Congress. It is an effect of that rancorous malice, that has so long followed you, through that arduous path of duty which you have invariably travelled, since America resolved to resist her oppressors. Is it any pleasure to you, to remark, that at the same era in which these men figure against you, public spirit seems to have taken its flight from Virginia? It is too much the case; for the quota of our troops is not half made up, and no chance seems to remain for completing it. The Assembly voted three hundred and fifty horse, and two thousand men, to be forthwith raised, and to join the grand army. Great bounties are offered, but I fear, the only effect will be, to expose our State to contempt, for I believe no soldiers will enlist, especially in the infantry. Can you credit it; no effort was made for supporting, or restoring public credit! I pressed it warmly on some, but in vain. This is the reason we get no soldiers. We shall issue fifty or sixty thousand dollars in cash, to equip the cavalry, and their time is to expire at Christmas. I believe they will not be in the field before that time. Let not Congress rely on Virginia for soldiers. I tell you my opinion, they will not be got here until a different spirit prevails. I look at the past condition of America, as at a dreadful precipice, from which we have escaped, by means of the generous French, to whom I will be everlastingly bound by the most heartfelt gratitude. But I must mistake matters, if some of those men who traduce you, do not prefer the offers of Britain. You will have a different game to play now with the commissioners. How comes Governor Johnstone there? I do not see how it comports with his past life. Surely Congress will never recede from our French friends.