In this action the valour of the provincial troops could not be exceeded. Such a terrible difafter left no hope remaining of the accomplishment of their purpofe, as General Arnold could now fearce number eight hundred effective men under his command. He did not, however, abandon the province, or even remove to a greater distance than three miles from Quebec; and here he ftill found means to annoy the garrifon very confiderably by intercepting their provifions. The Canadians, notwithstanding the bad fuccefs of the American arms, ftill continued friendly; and thus he was enabled to fuftain the hardships of a winter encampment in that most severe climate. The Congrefs, far from paffing any cenfure on him for his misfortune, created him a brigadiergeneral.

While hoftilities were thus carried on with vigour in the north, the Aame of contention was gradually extending itfelf in the fouth. Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, was involved in difputes fimilar to thofe which had taken place in other colonies. Thefe had proceeded fo far that the affembly was diffolved; which in this province was attended with a confequence unknown to the reft. As Virginia contained a great number of flaves, it was neceffary that a militia fhould be kept constantly on foot to keep them in awe. During the diffolution of the affembly the militia-laws expired; and the people, after complaining of the danger they were in from the negroes, formed a convention, which enafted, that each county fhould raise a quota for the defence of the province. Dunmore, on this, removed the powder from Williamsburg; which created fuch difcontents, that an immediate quarrel would probably have enfaed, had not the merchants of the town undertaken to obtain fatisfaction for the injury fuppofed to be done to the community. This tranquillity, however, was foon interrupted; the people, alarmed by a report that an armed party on their way from the man of war where the powder had been depofited, affembled in arms, and determined to oppofe by force any farther removals. In fome of the conferences which paffed at this time, the Governor let fall fome unguarded expreffions, fuch as threatening them with fetting up the royal ftandard, proclaiming liberty to the negroes, deftroying the town of Williamsburg, &c. which were afterwards made public, and exaggerated in fuch a manner as greatly to increase the public ferment.

The people now held frequent affemblies. Some of them took up arms with a defign to force the governor to reftore the powder, and to take the public money into their own poffeffion: but on their way to Williamsburgh for this purpose, they were met by the receiver-general, who VOL. I. became

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became fecurity for the payment for the gunpowder, and the inhabitants promifed to take care of the magazine and public revenue.

By this infurrection the governor was fo much intimidated, that he fent his family on board a man of war. He himself, however, iffued a proclamation, in which he declared the behaviour of the person who promoted the tumult treasonable, accufed the people of difaffection, &c. On their part they were by no means deficient in recriminating; and fome letters of his to Britain being about the fame time difcovered, con, fequences enfued extremely fimilar to thofe which had been occafioned by thofe of Mr. Hutchinson at Boston.

In this ftate of confufion the Governor thought it neceffary to fortify his palace with artillery, and procure a party of marines to guard it, Lord North's conciliatory propofal arriving alfo about the fame time, he ufed his utmoft endeavours to caufe the people to comply with it The arguments he used were such as must do him honour; and had not matters already gone to fuch a pitch, it is highly probable that fome attention would have been paid to them, "The view, he faid, in which the colonies ought to behold this conciliatory propofal was no more than an earnest admonition from Great Britain to relieve her wants: that the utmost condefcendence had been used in the mode of application; no determinate fum having been fixed, as it was thought most worthy of British generofity to take what they thought could be convenient fpared, and likewife to leave the mode of raifing it to themfelves," &c. But the clamour and diffatisfaction were now fo univerfal, that nothing elfe could be attended to. The Governor had called an affembly for the purpofe of laying this conciliatory propofal before them; but it had been little attended to. The affembly began their feffion by inquiries into the ftate of the magazine. It had been broken into by fome of the townfinen; for which reafon fpring-guns had been placed there by the Governor, which difcharged themfelves upon the offenders at their en trance thefe circumstances, with others of a fimilar kind, raised such a violent uproar, that as foon as the preliminary bufinefs of the feflion was over, the Governor retired on board a man of war, informing the al fembly that he durft no longer trust himself on fhore. This produced a long courfe of difputation, which ended in a pofitive refufal of the Governor to truft himfelf again in Williamsburg, even to give his affent to the bills, which could not be paffed without it, and though the affembly offered to bind themfelves for his perfonal fafety. In his turn he requested them to meet him on board the man of war, where he then was; but this propofal was rejected, and all further correfpondence containing the leaft appearance of friendship was difcontinued,

Lord

Lori Dunmore, thus deprived of his government, attempted to reduce by force thofe whom he could no longer govern. Some of the moft ftrenuous adherents to the British caufe, whom their zeal had rendered obnoxious at home, now repaired to him. He was alfo joined by numbers of black flaves. With these, and the affiftance of the British fhipping, he was for fome time enabled to carry on a kind of predatory war, fufficient to hurt and exasperate, but not to fubdue. After some inconsiderable attempts on land, proclaiming liberty to the flaves, and fétting up the royal standard, he took up his refidence at Norfolk, a maritime town of fome confequence, where the people were better affected to Britain than in most other places. A confiderable force, however, was collected against him; and the natural impetuofity of his temper prompting him to act against them with more courage than caution, he was entirely defeated, and obliged to retire to his shipping, which was now crowded by the number of those who had incurred the refentment of the Provincials.

In the mean time a fcheme of the utmoft magnitude and importance. was formed by one Mr. Conolly, a Pennfylvanian, of an intrepid and afpiring difpofition, and attached to the caufe of Britain. The first step of this plan was to enter into a league with the Ohio Indians. This he communicated to Lord Dunmore, and it received his approbation: Upon which Conolly fet out, and actually fucceeded in his defign. On his return he was dispatched to General Gage, from whom he received a colonel's commiffion, and fet cut in order to accomplish the remainder of his fcheme. The plan in general was, that he should return to the Ohio, where, by the affiftance of the British and Indians in these parts, he was to penetrate through the back fettlements into Virginia, and join Lord Dunmore at Alexandria. But by an accident very naturally to be expected, he was discovered, taken prifoner, and thrown into a dungeon.

In the fouthern colonies of Carolina the governors were expelled and obliged to take refuge on board of men of war, as Lord Dunmore had been and Mr. Martin, governor of North Carolina, on a charge of at tempting to raise the back-fettlers, confifting chiefly of Scots Highlanders, against the colony. Having fecured themselves against any attempts from thefe enemies, however, they proceeded to regulate their internal concerns in the fame manner as the reft of the colonies; and by the end of the year 1775, Britain beheld the whole of America united against her in the most determined oppofition. Her vaft poffeffions of that tract of land were now reduced to the fingle town of Boston; in which her 2 S 2 forces

forces were befieged by an enemy with whom they were apparently not able to cope, and by whom they must of course expect in a very short time to be expelled. The fituation of the inhabitants of Bofton, indeed, was peculiarly unhappy. After having failed in their attempts to leave the town, General Gage had confented to allow them to retire with their effects; but afterwards, for what reafon does not well appear, he refused to fulfil his promife. When he refigned his place to General Howe in October 1775, the latter, apprehenfive that they might give intelligence of the fituation of the British troops, ftrictly prohibited any perfon from leaving the place under pain of military execution. Thus matters continued till the month of March 1776, when the town was evacuated.

On the 2d of that month, General Washington opened a battery on the weft fide of the town, from whence it was bombarded with a heavy fire of cannon at the fame time; and three days after, it was attacked by another battery from the eattern fhore. This terrible attack continued for fourteen days without intermiffion; when General Howe, finding the place no longer tenable, determined if poffible to drive the enemy from their works. Preparations were therefore made for a moft vigorous attack on an hill called Dorchester Neck, which the Americans had fortified in fuch a manner as would in all probability have rendered the enterprife next to defperate. No difficulties, however, were fufficient to daunt the fpirit of the general; and every thing was in readiness, when a ftorm prevented this intended exertion of British valour. Next day, upon a more clofe inspection of the works they were to attack, it was thought advifeable to defift from the enterprise altogether. The fortifications were very ftrong, and extremely well provided with artillery; and befides other implements of deftruction, upwards of one hundred hogfheads of ftones were provided to roll down upon the enemy as they came up; which, as the afcent was extremely fteep, must have done prodigious execution.

Nothing therefore now remained but to think of a retreat; and evea this was attended with the utmost difficulty and danger. The Ameri cans, however, knowing that it was in the power of the British general to reduce the town to afhes, which could not have been repaired in many years, did not think proper to give the leaft moleftation; and for the fpace of a fortnight the troops were employed in the evacuation of the place, from whence they carried along with them two thousand of the inhabitants, who durft not stay on account of their attachment to the British caufe. From Boston they failed to Halifax; but all their vigilance could not prevent a number of valuable ships from falling into the hands of the enemy. A confiderable quantity of cannon and am

munition

munition had also been left at Bunker's Hill and Bofton Neck; and in the town, an immenfe variety of goods, principally woollen and linen, of which the provincials ftood very much in need. The eftates of thofe who fled to Halifax were confifcated; as alfo those who were attached to government, and had remained in the town. As an attack was expected as foon as the British forces fhould arrive, every method was employed to render the fortifications, already very strong, impreg nable. For this purpofe fome foreign engineers were employed, who had before arrived at Bofton; and fo eager were people of all ranks to accomplish this bufiaefs, that every able-bodied man in the place, without diftinction of rank, fet apart two days in the week, to complete it the fooner.

The Americans about this time began to be influenced by new views. The military arrangements of the preceding year-their unexpected union, and prevailing enthufiafm, expanded the minds of their leaders, and elevated the fentiments of the great body of their people. Decifive meafures which would have been lately reprobated, now met with approbation.

The favourers of fubordination under the former conftitution, urged the advantages of a fupreme head, to controul the difputes of interfering colonies, and alfo the benefits which flowed from union; and that independence was untried ground, and should not be entered upon but in the last extremity.

They flattered themfelves that Great Britain was fo fully convinced of the determined fpirit of America, that if the prefent controversy was compromifed, fhe would not at any future period refume an injuri ous exercife of her fupremacy. They were therefore for proceeding no farther than to defend themselves in the character of subjects, trusting that ere long the prefent hoftile measures would be relinquished, and the harmony of the two countries re-eftablished. The favourers of this fyftem were embarrassed, and all their arguments weakened by the perfeverance of Great Britain in her fchemes of coercion. A probable hope of a speedy repeal of a few acts of Parliament would have greatly increased the number of those who were advocates for reconciliation. But the certainty of intelligence to the contrary gave additional force to the arguments of the oppofite party. Though new weight was daily thrown into the feale, in which the advantages of independence were weighed, yet it did not preponderate till about that time in 1776, when intelli. gence reached the Colonists of the act of Parliament paffed in December 1775, for throwing them out of British protection, and of hiring foreign troops to aflift in effecting their conqueft. Refpecting the first it was