call him back, burst into the British camp and was severely wounded. The Americans were completely victorious.

On the night after the battle Burgoyne led his shattered army to a stronger position. The Americans immediately occupied the abandoned camp, and then pressed after the fugitives; for the British were already retreating. On the 9th of October Burgoyne reached Saratoga and attempted to escape to Fort Edward. But Gates and Lincoln now commanded the river, and the proud Briton was hopelessly hemmed in. He held out to the last extremity, and finally, when there were only three days between his soldiers and starvation, was driven to surrender. On the 17th of October terms of capitulation were agreed on, and the whole army, numbering five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, became prisoners of war. Among the captives were six members of the British Parliament. A splendid train of brass artillery consisting of forty-two pieces, together with nearly five thousand muskets, and an immense quantity of ammunition and stores, was the further fruit of the victory. The valor of the patriots had fairly eclipsed the warlike renown of Great Britain.

As soon as Burgoyne's invasion was at an end, a large portion of the victorious army of the North was despatched to the aid of Washington. For, in the mean time, a great campaign had been in progress in the South; and the patriots were sorely pressed. At the beginning of July, Howe had abandoned New Jersey. On the 23d of the same month he sailed with eighteen thousand men to attack Philadelphia by way of the Delaware. Washington, suspecting the object of the expedition, broke up his camp and marched rapidly southward. Off the capes of Virginia Howe learned that the Americans had obstructed the Delaware, so as to prevent the passage of his fleet. of his fleet. He therefore determined to enter the Chesapeake, anchor at the head of the bay and make the attack by land. As soon as Washington obtained information of the enemy's plans, he advanced his headquarters from Philadelphia to Wilmington, and there the American army, numbering between eleven and twelve thousand men, was concentrated. The forces of Howe were vastly superior in numbers and equipments, but Washington hoped by selecting his ground and acting on the defensive to beat back the invaders and save the capital.

On the 25th of August, the British landed at Elk River, in Maryland, and nine days afterward began their march toward Philadelphia. After a council of war and some changes in the arrangement of his forces, Washington selected the left bank of the Brandywine as his line of defence. The left wing of the American army was stationed at Chad's Ford

to dispute the passage, while the right wing, under General Sullivan, was extended for three miles up the river. On the 11th of September the British reached the opposite bank and began battle. What seemed to be their principal attack was made by the Hessians under Knyphausen at the ford; and here Wayne's division held the enemy in check. But the onset of Knyphausen was only a feint to keep the Americans engaged until a stronger column of the British, led by Cornwallis and Howe, could march up the south bank of the Brandywine and cross at a point above the American right. In this way Sullivan, who was not on the alert, allowed himself to be outflanked. Washington was misled by false information; the right wing, though the men under La Fayette and Stirling fought with great courage, was crushed in by Cornwallis; and the day was hopelessly lost.

During the night the defeated patriots retreated to Westchester. Greene brought up the rear in good order; through his efforts and those of the commander-in-chief the army was saved from destruction. The loss of the Americans in killed, wounded and missing amounted to fully a thousand men ; that of the British to five hundred and eighty-four. The gallant La Fayette was severely wounded; Count Pulaski, a brave Pole who had espoused the patriot cause, so distinguished himself in this engagement that Congress honored him with the rank of brigadier and gave him command of the cavalry. On the day after the battle, Washington continued his retreat to Philadelphia, and then took post at Germantown, a few miles from the city. Undismayed by his reverse, he resolved to risk another engagement. Accordingly, on the 15th of the month, he recrossed the Schuylkill and marched toward the British camp. Twenty miles below Philadelphia he met Howe at Warren's Tavern. For a while the two armies manoeuvred, the enemy gaining the better position; then a spirited skirmish ensued, and a great battle was imminent. But just as the conflict was beginning a violent tempest of wind and rain swept over the field. The combatants were deluged, their cartridges soaked, and fighting made impossible. On the next day Howe marched down the Schuylkill; Washington recrossed the river and confronted his antagonist. Howe turned suddenly about and hurried up stream along the right bank in the direction of Reading. Washington, fearing for his stores, pressed forward up the left bank to Pottstown. But the movement of the British westward was only feigned; again Howe wheeled, marched rapidly to the ford above Norristown, crossed the river and hastened to Philadelphia. On the 26th of September the city was entered without opposition, and the main division of the British army encamped at Germantown.

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At the approach of Howe, Congress adjourned to Lancaster. On the 27th of September the members met at that place, and again adjourned to York, where they assembled on the 30th and continued to hold their sessions until the British evacuated Philadelphia in the following summer. Washington now made his camp on Skippack Creek, about twenty miles from the city. As soon as Howe found himself safe in the "rebel capital," as he was pleased to call it, he despatched a large division of his army to capture forts Mifflin and Mercer on the Delaware. Germantown was thus considerably weakened, and Washington resolved to attempt a a surprise. The same plan of attack which had been so successful at Trenton was again adopted. On the night of the 3d of October the American army, arranged in several divisions, marched silently toward Germantown. The roads were rough, and the different columns reached the British outposts at irregular intervals. The morning was foggy, and the movements of both armies were unsteady and confused. There was much severe fighting, and at one time it seemed that the British would be overwhelmed; but they gained possession of a large stone house and held it. A foolish attempt to dislodge them gave the enemy time to rally. Some strong columns of Americans were kept out of the battle by the inefficiency of their commanders; the tide turned against the patriots, and the day was lost. Of the Americans a hundred and fiftytwo were killed, five hundred and twenty-one wounded, and about four hundred missing. Howe reported the British loss at five hundred and thirty-five. The retreat of the Americans was covered by Greene and Pulaski.

The

On the 22d of October Fort Mercer, on the New Jersey side of the Delaware, seven miles below Philadelphia, was assaulted by twelve hundred Hessians under Count Donop. The garrison, though numbering but four hundred, made a brave and successful resistance. assault was like that at Bunker Hill. Count Donop received a mortal wound, and nearly four hundred of his men fell before the American entrenchments. At the same time the British fleet, assisted by a landforce from Philadelphia, attacked Fort Mifflin on Mud Island, in the Delaware. Here also the assailants met with an obstinate resistance. The assault became a siege, which lasted till the 15th of November. The patriots held out against superior numbers until every gun was dismounted and every palisade demolished. Then at midnight the ruined fortress was set on fire, and the garrison escaped to Fort Mercer. To make a second attack on this place Howe despatched two thousand men under Cornwallis. Washington sent General Greene to succor the fortress; but Cornwallis was strongly reinforced, and the American general would not

hazard a battle. On the 20th of November Fort Mercer was abandoned to the British; and thus General Howe obtained undisputed control of the Delaware.

After the battle of Germantown Washington took up his headquarters at Whitemarsh, twelve miles from Philadelphia. Winter was approaching, and the patriots began to suffer for food and clothing. Howe, knowing the distressed condition of the Americans, determined to surprise their camp. On the evening of the 2d of December he held a council of war, and it was decided to march against Washington on the following night. But Lydia Darrah, at whose house the council was held, overheard the plan of the enemies of her country. On the following morning she obtained a passport from Lord Howe, left the city on pretence of going to mill, rode rapidly to the American lines, and sent information of the impending attack to Washington. When, on the morning of the 4th, the British approached Whitemarsh they found the cannon mounted and the patriots standing in order of battle. The British general manœuvred for four days, and then marched back to Philadelphia. During the remainder of the winter the city was occupied by nearly twenty thousand English and Hessian soldiers. There they reveled and rioted. Everything that the magazines of Great Britain could furnish was lavished upon the army of invaders who lay warmly housed in the city of Penn. In the patriot camp there was a different

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On the 11th of December Washington left his position at Whitemarsh and went into winter-quarters at Valley Forge on the right bank of the Schuylkill. The march thither occupied four days. Thousands of the soldiers were without shoes, and the frozen ground was marked with bloody footprints. The sagacity of Washington had pointed to a strong position for his encampment. To the security of the river and hills the additional security of redoubts and entrenchments was added. Log cabins were built for the soldiers, and everything was done that could be done ENCAMPMENT AT VALLEY FORGE, to secure the comfort of the suffering patriots. But it was a long and dreary winter; moaning and anguish were heard in the camp, and the echo fell heavy on the soul of the commander. These were the darkest days of Washington's life. Congress in a measure abandoned him, the people withheld their sympathies. The brilliant success of the army of the North was unjustly compared with the reverses

1777-8.

of the army of the South. Many men high in military and civil station left the great leader unsupported in the hour of his grief; even Samuel Adams, impatient under calamity, withdrew his confidence. There was a miserable conspiracy headed by Gates, Conway and Mifflin. Washington was to be superseded, and Gates or Lee was to be made commanderin-chief. But the alienation was only for a moment; the allegiance of the army remained unshaken, and the nation's confidence in the troubled chieftain became stronger than ever. Still, at the close of 1777, the patriot cause was obscured with clouds and misfortune.

FOUR

CHAPTER XLI.

FRANCE TO THE RESCUE.

months before the declaration of independence, Silas Deane of Connecticut was appointed commissioner to France. His business at the French court was to act as the political and commercial agent of the United Colonies. His first service was to make a secret arrangement with Beaumarchais, a rich French merchant, by which the latter was to supply the Americans with the materials necessary for carrying on the war. The king of France and his prime minister, Vergennes, winked at this proceeding; but the agents of Great Britain were jealous and suspicious, and it was not until the autumn of 1777 that a ship laden with two hundred thousand dollars' worth of arms, ammunition and specie could be sent to America. In that ship came Baron Steuben, a veteran soldier and disciplinarian from the army of Frederic the Great. Arriving at Portsmouth, the baron tarried a short time in New England, and then repaired to York, where Congress was in session. From that body he received a commission, and at once joined Washington at Valley Forge. His accession to the American army was an event of great importance. He received the appointment of inspector-general; and from the day in which he entered upon the discharge of his duties there was a marked improvement in the condition and discipline of the soldiers. The American regulars were never again beaten when confronted by the British in equal numbers.

In November of 1776 Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin were appointed by Congress to negotiate an open treaty of friendship and com