nies, it would send troops into Canada with a view of attacking the Americans in the rear, by the way of Ticonderoga. It was known, besides, that this fortress, and that of Crown Point, situated a little below it, upon the same lake, Champlain, were furnished with a very numerous artillery, of which the Americans stood in the greatest need. Finally, it was thought of no little importance, in these first movements, to strike some capital blow, in order to stimulate the ardor of the insurgent people. Accordingly, this enterprise, having been maturely considered in the plan, and directed with great prudence in the execution, had the result which might have been expected.

It was deemed an essential point, to attack the enemy by surprise; they resolved, therefore, to proceed with profound secrecy; for, if the commanders of Ticonderoga and of Crown Point had any suspicion of the project, they could draw reenforcements from the neighboring fortress of St. John. The general Congress itself, then in session at Philadelphia, had no intimation of their design; its authors being apprehensive, lest, in so great a number of members, there might be found some individual deficient in discretion.

To defray the expenses of the enterprise, the assembly of Connecticut appropriated the sum of eighteen hundred dollars. Powder, bullets, and all the utensils requisite for a siege, were secretly pro vided. The troops were promptly assembled at Castletown, a place situated upon the banks of Wood creek, and the great road to Ticonde roga. The greater part were inhabitants of the Green Mountains, and thence, in their own style, they were called Green Mountain Boys; a race of men accustomed to fatigue and danger. Among the superior officers, besides Allen and Easton, were colonels Brown and Warner, and captain Dickinson. They were joined at Castletown by colonel Arnold, who came from the army of Boston. Possessed by nature of an extraordinary force of genius, a restless character, and an intrepidity bordering upon prodigy, this officer had of himself con ceived the same plan; so manifest was the utility of the enterprise, and so bold the spirit of these American chiefs. Arnold had conferred, to this end, with the committee of safety of Massachusetts, who had appointed him colonel, with authority to levy soldiers, in order to attempt the capture of Ticonderoga; in pursuance whereof, he arrived at Castletown; and his surprise was extreme, at finding himself anticipated. But, as he was not a man to be baffled by trifles, and as nothing could delight him more than the occasion for combat, he concerted with the other leaders, and consented, however hard he must have thought the sacrifice, to put himself under the command of colonel Allen.

They posted sentinels upon all the roads, to prevent the least rumor of their approach from reaching the menaced point; and they arrived, in the night, upon the bank of lake Champlain, opposite

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Ticonderoga. The chief hope of success depending on despatch, Allen and Arnold rapidly surmounted the difficulties of crossing; and landed upon the other bank, in the environs of the fortress. They continued their march, and at day-break, entering by the covered way, arrived upon the esplanade; here they raised the shouts of victory, and made a deafening uproar. The soldiers of the rison roused from sleep at this tumult, and soon commenced firing. A hot scuffle ensued, with gun-breeches and bayonets. The commander of the fort at length appeared; colonel Easton having informed him that he was prisoner of America, he was much confused, and repeated, several times, What does this mean?' The English threw down arms, and all was surrendered to the victors.

They found, at Ticonderoga, about one hundred and twenty pieces of twenty-four pound brass cannon, several howitzers and mortars, balls, bombs, and ammunition of every denomination. The detachment that was left upon the other bank, having rejoined the first, a party was sent against Crown Point, where the garrison consisted of only a few soldiers. This expedition succeeded without difficulty; more than an hundred pieces of artillery were found in the fort.

But the plan of the Americans would not have been completely accomplished, except they secured to themselves the exclusive control of the lake; which they could not hope to obtain, however, without seizing a corvette of war, which the English kept at anchor near fort St. John. They resolved, therefore, to arm a vessel of the species they call schooners, the command of which was to be given to Arnold; while Allen should bring on his men upon the flat boats employed in the navigation of these lakes. The wind blowing fresh from the south, the vessel of Arnold left the boats far in the rear. He came unexpectedly alongside of the corvette, the captain of which was far from suspecting the danger that menaced him, and took possession of it without resistance; and, as if heaven was pleased to distinguish with evident tokens of its favor these first achievements of the Americans, the wind suddenly changed from south to north, so that, in less than an hour's time, colonel Arnold returned, sound and safe, with his prize, to Ticonderoga.

Things passed no less propitiously for the Americans at Skeenesborough. This fortress fell into their hands, with its garrison; and thus placed at their disposal a great quantity of light artillery. Colonel Allen put sufficient garrisons in the conquered fortresses, and deputed Arnold to command them in chief. As to himself, he returned directly to Connecticut.

Such was the fortunate issue of the expedition of the Americans upon their northern frontiers. It was no doubt of high importance; but it would have had a much greater influence upon the course of the whole war, if these fortresses, which are the shield and bulwark

of the colonies, had been defended, in times following, with the same prudence and valor with which they had been acquired.

But about Boston, the course of events was far less rapid. The Americans exerted their utmost industry, to intercept from the English all supplies of provisions; and they, all their endeavors to procure them. This gave occasion to frequent skirmishes between the detachments of the two armies. One of the most severe took place about Noddle's and Hog Island, both situated in the harbor of Boston, northeast of the city; the first opposite Winnesimick, and the second in front of Chelsea, and very near it. These two islands, abounding in forage and cattle, were a great resource for the English, who went there often in quest of provisions. This the provincials resolved to put a stop to, by removing the cattle, and destroying all the provender they could find. They carried their purpose into effect; not, however, without a vigorous opposition on the part of the royalists. The provincials landed a second time upon Noddle's Island, and took off a great number of cattle, of various denominations.. They effected the same purpose, a few days after, in Pettick's and Deer Island. In all these actions, they demonstrated the most intrepid courage, and acquired greater confidence in themselves. The garrison of Boston, already suffering greatly from the scarcity of food, experienced, from these operations, a prejudice difficult to describe.

These feats were the prelude to an action of far greater moment, which followed a few days after. The succours expected from England, had arrived at Boston; which, with the garrison, formed an army of from ten to twelve thousand men; all excellent troops. Three distinguished generals, Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, were at the head of these reenforcements. Great events were looked for on both sides. The English were inflamed with desire to wash out the stain of Lexington; they could not endure the idea that the Americans had seen them fly; it galled them to think, that the soldiers of the British king, renowned for their brilliant exploits, were now closely imprisoned within the walls of a city. They were desirous, at any price, of proving that their superiority over the herds of American militia, was not a vain chimera. Above all, they ardently aspired to terminate, by some decisive stroke, this ignominious war; and thus satisfy, at once, their own glory, the expectations of their country, the orders, the desires, and the promises of the ministers. But victory was exacted of them still more imperiously by the scarcity of food, which every day became more alarming; for, if they must sacrifice their lives, they chose rather to perish by the sword than by fainine. The Americans, on their part, were not less eager for the hour of combat to arrive; their preceding successes had stimulated their courage, and promised them new triumphs.

In this state of things, the English generals deliberated maturely upon the most expedient mode of extricating themselves from this difficult position, and placing themselves more at large in the country. Two ways were suggested of issuing from the city; one, to sally out from the Neck, and attack the American intrenchments at Roxbury; and, having forced them, to scour the country on the part of the county of Suffolk; the other was, to pass the ferry of Charlestown, traverse the peninsula of this name, issue by the isthmus, and dislodge the enemy, who occupied the heights between Willis creek and Mystic river; and then dilate in the direction of Worcester.

General Gage had for some time been decided to attempt the first of these alternatives. He calculated, that in case of a repulse, the fortifications of Boston Neck would secure his retreat. The Americans, having been apprised of it, on the very day appointed for the attack, stood much upon their guard. Whether from this motive, or some other more probable, the English general altered his resolution, and neither marched out on that day nor the following. The provincials took advantage of the delay, and strengthened their intrenchments with parapets and palisades. They also concentrated their artillery, and reenforced this part of the army with all the militia of the adjacent country. All these dispositions were made with so much intelligence, that the English could no longer attempt an attack upon this quarter, without exposing themselves to manifest peril. Accordingly, they abandoned all thoughts of it, and directed their views towards the peninsula and Neck of Charlestown. The American generals had immediate notice of it; and resolved to exert their most strenuous endeavors to defeat this new project of the enemy. Nothing was better suited to such a purpose, than to fortify diligently the heights of Bunker's Hill, which commanded the entrance and the issue of the peninsula of Charlestown. Orders were therefore given to colonel William Prescott, to occupy them with a detachment of a thousand men, and to intrench himself there by the rules of art. But here an error was committed, which placed the garrison of Boston in very imminent danger, and reduced the two parties to the necessity of coming to action immediately. Whether he was deceived by the resemblance of name, or from some other motive unknown, colonel Prescott, instead of repairing to the heights of Bunker's Hill, to fortify himself there, advanced further on in the peninsula, and immediately commenced his intrenchments upon the heights of Breed's Hill, another eminence, which overlooks Charlestown, and is situated towards the extremity of the peninsula, nearer to Boston. The works were pushed with so much ardor, that the following morning, by day-break, the Americans had already constructed a square redoubt, capable of affording them some shelter from the enemy's fire. The labor had been conducted with such silence, that the English had no suspicion

of what was passing. It was about four in the morning, when the captain of a ship of war first perceived it, and began to play his artillery. The report of the cannon attracted a multitude of spectators to the shore.

The English generals doubted the testimony of their senses. Meanwhile, the thing appeared too important not to endeavor to to dislodge the provincials, or at least to prevent them from completing the fortifications commenced; for, as the height of Breed's Hill absolutely commands Boston, the city was no longer tenable, if the Americans erected a battery upon this eminence. The English therefore opened a general fire of the artillery of the city, of the fleet, and of the floating batteries stationed around the peninsula of Boston. It hailed a tempest of bombs and balls upon the works of the Americans; they were especially incommoded by the fire of a battery planted upon an eminence named Cop's Hill, which, situated within the city, forms a species of tower, in front of Breed's Hill. But all this was without effect. The Americans continued to work the whole day, with unshaken constancy; and, towards night, they had already much advanced a trench, which descended from the redoubt to the foot of the hill, and almost to the bank of Mystic river. The fury of the enemy's artillery, it is true, had prevented them from carrying it to perfection.

In this conjuncture, there remained no other hope for the English generals, but in attempting an assault, to drive the Americans, by dint of force, from this formidable position. This resolution was taken without hesitation; and it was followed, the 17th of June, by the action of Breed's Hill, known also by the name of Bunker's Hill; much renowned for the intrepidity, not to say the temerity, of the two parties; for the number of the dead and wounded; and for the effect it produced upon the opinions of men, in regard to the valor of the Americans, and the probable issue of the whole war.

The right wing of the Americans was flanked by the houses of Charlestown, which they occupied; and the part of this wing which connected with the main body, was defended by the redoubt erected upon the heights of Breed's Hill. The centre, and the left wing, formed themselves behind the trench, which, following the declivity of the hill, extended towards, but without reaching, Mystic river. The American officers having reflected that the most feeble part of their defensive was precisely this extremity of the left wing, for the trench not extending to the river, and the land in this place being smooth and easy, there was danger of being turned, and attacked in the rear, they determined, therefore, to obstruct this passage by two parallel palisades, and to fill up with herbage the interval between the one and the other. The troops of Massachusetts occupied Charlestown, the redoubt, and a part of the trench; those of Connecticut, commanded by captain Nolten, and those of New Hamp