352

LAFAYETTE'S CAREER DELINEATED.

heavens. He came when darkness curtained the hills, and the tempest was abroad in its anger; when the plough stood still in the field of promise, and briers cumbered the garden of beauty. He came when fathers were dying, and mothers were weeping over them; when the wife was binding up the gashed bosom of her husband, and the maiden was wiping the deatlı damp from the brow of her lover. He came when the brave began to fear the power of man, and the pious to doubt the favor of God.

'It was then that this One joined the ranks of a revolted people. Freedom's little phalanx bade him a grateful welcome. With them he courted the battle's rage; with theirs his arm was lifted, with theirs his blood was shed. Long and doubtful was the conflict. At length, kind Heaven smiled on the good cause, and the beaten invaders fled. The profane were driven from the temple of Liberty; and at her pure shrine the pilgrim warrior, with his adored Commander, knelt and worshipped. Leaving there his offering, and the incense of an uncorrupted spirit, he at length rose up, and, crowned with benedictions, turned his happy feet towards his long-deserted home.

'After nearly fifty years, that One has come again. Can mortal tongue tell, can mortal heart feel, the sublimity of that coming? Exulting millions rejoice in it, and their loud, long, transporting shout, like the mingling of many winds, rolls on, undying, to freedom's farthest mountains. A congregated nation comes round him. Old men bless him, and children reverence him. The lovely come out to look upon him, the learned deck their halls to greet him, the rulers of the land rise up to do him homage. How his full heart labors! He views the rusting trophies of departed days, he treads the high places where his brethren moulder, he bends before the tomb of his Father; his words are tears-the speech of sad remembrance. But he looks round upon a ransomed land and a joyous race; he beholds the blessings these trophies secured, for which those brethren died, for which that Father lived; and again his words are tears-the eloquence of gratitude and joy.

'Spread forth creation like a map; bid earth's dead multitudes revive ;and of all the pageant splendors that ever glittered to the sun, when looked his burning eye on a sight like this? Of all the myriads that have come and gone, what cherished minion ever ruled an hour like this? Many have struck the redeeming blow for their own freedom; but who, like this man, has bared his bosom in the cause of strangers? Others have lived in the love of their own people; but who, like this man, has drank his sweetest cup of welcome with another? Matchless chief! of glory's immortal tablets, there is one for him, for him alone! Oblivion shall never shroud its splendor; the everlasting flame of liberty shall guard it, that the generations of men may repeat the name recorded there, the beloved name of Lafayette !'

How Lafayette became connected with the American Cause.-The account given by Sparks in the writings of George Washington,-volume v., appendix No. 1, page 445,-was doubtless furnished to the American historian by

WHY HE ESPOUSED OUR CAUSE.

353

Lafayette himself, since it is well known that Sparks visited Lafayette in 1828, and was for a considerable time his guest. His statement moreover, corresponds perfectly with Lafayette's Memoirs of himself. Says Sparks :-'In the summer of 1776, M. de Lafayette was stationed on military duty at Metz, being then an officer in the French army. It happened at this time, that the Duke of Gloucester, brother to the King of England, was at Metz, and a dinner was given to him by the commandant of that place. Several officers were invited, and among others Lafayette. Despatches had just been received by the duke from England, and he had made their contents the topic of conversation; they related to American affairs, the recent declaration of independence, the resistance of the colonists, and the strong measures adopted by the ministry to crush the rebellion.

'The details were new to Lafayette; he listened with eagerness to the conversation, and prolonged it by asking questions of the duke. His curiosity was deeply excited by what he heard, and the idea of a people fighting for liberty had a strong influence upon his imagination; the cause seemed to him just and noble, from the representations of the duke himself; and before he left the table, the thought came into his head that he would go to America, and offer his services to a people who were struggling for freedom and independFrom that hour he could think of nothing but this chivalrous enterprise. He resolved to return to Paris and make further inquiries.

ence.

"When he arrived in that city, he confided his scheme to two young friends, Count Segur and Viscount de Noailles, and proposed that they should join him. They entered with enthusiasm into his views; but as they were dependent on their families, it was necessary to consult their parents, who reprobated the plan and refused their consent. The young men faithfully kept Lafayette's secret: his situation was more fortunate, as his property was at his own disposal, and he possessed an annual revenue of nearly two hundred thousand livres.

"He next explained his intentions to the Count de Broglie, who told him that his project was so chimerical, and fraught with so many hazards, without a prospect of the least advantage, that he could not for a moment regard it with favor, nor encourage him with any advice which should prevent him from abandoning it immediately. When Lafayette found him thus determined, he requested that at least he would not betray him, for he was resolved to go to America. The Count de Broglie assured him that his confidence was not misplaced. 'But,' said he, 'I have seen your uncle die in the wars of Italy; I witnessed your father's death at the battle of Minden; and I will not be accessory to the ruin of the only remaining branch of the family.' He then used all his powers of argument and persuasion to divert Lafayette from his purpose, but in vain. Finding his determination unalterable, the Count de Broglie said, as he could render him no aid, he would introduce him to the Baron de Kalb, who he knew was seeking an opportunity to go to America, and whose experience and counsels might be valuable."

Speaking of himself in the third person, Lafayette says in his Memoirs:

354

BURGOYNE'S PROJECTED INVASION.

'After having encountered for seven weeks various perils and chances, he arrived at Georgetown in the Carolinas. Ascending the river in a canoe, his feet touched at length the American soil, and he swore that he would conquer or perish in the cause. Having procured horses, he set out with six officers to Philadelphia to repair to the Congress of the United States, riding nearly nine hundred miles on horseback. He was presented for the first time to Washington at a dinner at which several members of Congress were present. When they were separating, Washington drew Lafayette aside, expressed much kindness for him, complimented him upon his zeal and sacrifices, and invited him to consider the headquarters as his own house, adding with a smile, that he could not promise him the luxuries of a court, but that as he was become an American soldier, he would doubtless submit cheerfully to the customs and privations of a republican army. The next day Washington visited the forts of the Delaware, and invited Lafayette to accompany him.'

Burgoyne's projected Invasion from Canada.-It was planned in the closet of George III. by Lord Germain, General Burgoyne, and the King. All doubt on this subject has, for some time, been dispelled; especially was the plan of the employment of the savages, the work of the sovereign. In Germain's letter to Sir Guy Carleton, July 25, 1777, he says: After considering every information that could be furnished, the king gave particular directions for every part of the disposition of the forces in Canada.' Bancroft further states: "It was their hope to employ bands of wild warriors along all the frontier. Carleton had checked their excesses by placing them under agents of his own appointment, and by confining them within the limits of his own command. His scruples gave offence, and all his merciful precautions were swept away. The king's peremptory orders were sent to the northwest to extend operations, and, among those whose inclination for hostilities was no more to be restrained, were enumerated the Ottawas, the Chippewas, the Wyandotts, the Shawnees, the Senecas, the Delawares and the Potawotomies. Joseph Brant, the Mohawk, returned from his interview with the secretary, to rouse the fury of his countrymen, and to make them clamor for war under leaders of their own, who would indulge them in their excesses and take them wherever they wished to go. Humane British and German officers in Canada were alarmed at the crowds of red-men who were ready to take up the hatchet, but only in their own way, foresaw and deplored the effects of their unrestrained and useless cruelty, and from such allies, augured no good to the service. But the policy of Germain was unexpectedly promoted by the release of La Corne Saint Luc, who came in advance to meet his wishes. This most ruthless of partisans was now in his sixty-sixth year, but full of vigor and animal spirits, and only more passionate and relentless from age. He had vowed eternal vengeance on the beggars who had kept him captive. He stood ready to pledge his life and his honor, that, within sixty days of his landing at 2 Lord George Germain, to Sir Guy Carleton, March 26, 1777, MS.

1 Bancroft, vol. ix., p. 321.

INVESTMENT OF TICONDEROGA.

355

Quebec, he would lead the Indians to the neighborhood of Albany. His words were: 'We must let loose the savages upon the frontiers of these scoun drels, to inspire terror, and to make them submit;' and his promises faithfully reported to Germain, won favor to the leader who, above all others, was notorious for brutal inhumanity."'

The King's Plan for the Campaign.-From the beginning to the end of the Revolution, he interested himself in the minutest details concerning the American war. He cherished with great confidence the idea of the concerted action of the forces under Burgoyne at the North, and Howe at the South, which, by a descent from Canada, and an advance from New York, would cut off all intercourse between New England and the other States, and permanently control the Hudson. In the month of May, Burgoyne reached Quebec, and was, says Lafayette, already advancing with ten thousand men, preceded by his proclamations and his savages.' Colonel St. Leger was despatched with a strong force to Oswego to effect a junction with Johnson and Brant, and after capturing Fort Stanwix, to join Burgoyne's main army at Albany.

6

Investment of Ticonderoga.-With upwards of ten thousand men, Burgoyne invested Ticonderoga on the 7th of July. General St. Clair's garri. son did not exceed three thousand men, but leaving his outworks he prepared for an assault. On the evening of the 5th, discovering that the British had planted a battery of heavy guns on Mt. Defiance,-a hill which rises more than five hundred feet on the southwest side of the outlet of Lake George, opposite Ticonderoga-and knowing that any resistance would be in vain, he removed his stores up the lake to Skenesborough-now Whitehall-and under cover of the night crossed over with his forces to Mt. Independence, from which he commenced a retreat to Fort Edward, the headquarters of Major-General Schuyler, then in command of the Northern army. The flight would have been successful but for the fatal burning of a building on Mt. Independence, which revealed it. The brigade of General Fraser, and Reidsel's two Hessian corps started instantly in the pursuit. They came up with the chief division under Colonel Seth Warner at Hubbardton, just after sunrise, July 7th, when the Americans, after a fierce engagement, fled with a loss in killed, wounded, and missing of more than three hundred; the British reporting their loss at one hundred and eightythree. Before evening of the same day, a British flotilla, by a rapid movement, had overtaken and destroyed the stores which St. Clair had sent up the lake, as well as others collected at Whitehall. Finally, on the evening of the 12th, St. Clair reached Schuyler's headquarters with the fragments of his shattered army, which had fought bravely against hopeless odds, but with a heavy loss of men and military stores, and, what could so ill be spared, nearly two hundred pieces of artillery.

1 Governor Tryon to Secretary Germain, 9 April, 1777, MS.

356

VICTORY OF BENNINGTON.

Schuyler retreats down the Hudson, and establishes a fortified Camp at the Mouth of the Mohawk.-With no more facilities, an abler strategist might have more effectually arrested the advance, even of so superior a force, although led by so able a general as Burgoyne. But Schuyler had none of the qualities of a great commander; although he displayed some alacrity and decision in obstructing the march of Burgoyne after St. Clair's retreat. His utmost effective force did not reach four thousand, but he despatched a strong party towards Whitehall, who broke up all the bridges, and felled heavy trees over the roads which Burgoyne's army must pass, thus greatly impeding his advance.

Schuyler's Call for Reinforcements. From his new headquarters, a cry for reinforcements-sanctioned by Washington's earnest appeal-was sent in all directions, and it was nobly responded to. Detachments from the regular army were sent on by forced marches under Washington's orders; General Lincoln reached the camp, and volunteers came in from all quarters, while a large body of militia from the New England States flew to his side.

Splendid Victory of Bennington.-The well-known integrity and patriotism of Schuyler had gained him great popularity and respect throughout the State of New York, and with the hearty co-operation of the Commander-in-chief,-who watched over the Northern department with peculiar care, and sent to Schuyler more regiments than it seemed prudent to spare— an army of thirteen thousand men was soon gathered. Fairly roused to the situation, Schuyler seemed to have atoned for the lack of more vigorous measures in the spring. So serious were the obstructions he interposed to Burgoyne's advance that the British army was exhausted by fatigue, and running so short of provisions by the 30th of July, some desperate measures had to be taken to replenish his supplies; for, with his loss by skirmishes, casualties, and sickness, he had still an army of ten thousand men. With the hope of seizing the stores which the patriots had collected at Bennington, a strong detachment of Canadians, Tories, Indians, and Hessians under Colonel Baum, was despatched on this mission—a distance of nearly forty miles. They were sure of meeting with trouble, for Stark, 'who could do anything with the New Hampshire militia,' had hurried them to Bennington, and against the indomitable courage of this man, whom nature had made so rude and yet so great, the enemy were to dash in vain.' Without counting numbers, Stark advanced with his corps to fight this motley crowd, which the agents

1 In Washington and his Generals, Hon. J. T. Headley-with a graphic power of delineation so rare and so entrancing-gives a touching description of the old age of GENERAL STARK, and finely sums up his character:- After the disbanding of the army, he returned to his home, and at the age of fifty-five became a sober farmer and quiet citizen. Here he lived in retirement, and like a good ship, which has long braved the storm, and at last is left to crumble slowly away in a peaceful port, gently yielded to the pressure of years and the decay of age. With his white locks falling around his strongly-marked visage, he would while away many a long winter evening in relating to his children and to his grandchildren the adventures of

his early life. The roar of the blast without would remind him of his wild bivouacs when a bold young ranger, amid the snow in the wilderness, and the strange events of his stormy career come back like an ancient dream on his staggering memory. Eightyfour years of age when the Last War commenced he listened to the far-off roar of battle like an old war horse whose spirit is unbroken, but whose energies are gone. When he was told that the cannon he had taken at Bennington were among the trophies surrendered by Hull in the capitulation at Detroit, he evinced the greatest emotion. He mourned for "his guns," as he

was wont to call them, as if they had been his children. They had become a part of his existence, associated