LVIII. 1778. Commander-in-chief nevertheless determined to CHAP. attack their rear. He sent forward, accordingly, a strong detachment under General Charles Lee, now released from his captivity; and an action ensued at Monmouth Court House on the 28th of June. Lee withdrew from the ground without orders, and, as was alleged, without necessity; and he was closely pursued by the British; but Washington coming up effectually put a stop to their advance. So intense was the midsummer heat, that several men on both sides dropped dead without a wound. Both armies sustained a nearly equal loss,-between three and four hundred on each side, and both in the evening occupied the same positions as at first; but in the course of the night Sir Henry Clinton silently withdrew his men, and pursued his march. Thus on the whole it was a pitched battle; the advantage, if any, being rather on the side of the British, who had fought only to secure their retreat, and who had succeeded in that object. The Americans ascribed their disappointment to the fault of General Lee; he was tried by a Court-Martial, found guilty, and by a lenient sentence suspended from command for one year. His chief consolation and employment in his disgrace appears to have been most virulent railing against Washington. The British army being now concentrated at New York and Rhode Island, its principal attention was directed to the movements of the Toulon squadron. The equipment of that squadron had 1778. CHAP. been actively pressed and nearly completed before LVIH. the French Declaration of the 13th of March; it left port soon afterwards, and early in July appeared off the coast of America. There were six frigates and twelve ships of the line, the commander being Count D'Estaing; and there was on board Monsieur Gerard, accredited as Minister to the United States. The force under Lord Howe was very far inferior; fewer ships, and those for the most part smaller than D'Estaing's; besides that they had been long on service, and were in ill condition. The first object of D'Estaing had been to surprise them in the Delaware; but he arrived too late; the British had already sailed for New York. D'Estaing next directed his course to Sandy Hook, hoping to force the entrance of the harbour; but he was dissuaded by the advice of some pilots, and, altogether changing his plans, steered for Rhode Island, and sailed up the Newport river. An attack against the British in that quarter had been projected between the new allies; the French promised to land from their ships 4000 troops, and the Americans actually sent a detachment of 10,000 under General Sullivan. The British troops, only 5000 strong, retired within their lines at Newport. At these tidings Lord Howe, whose intended successor, Admiral Byron, had not as yet arrived, issued forth from the Hudson, and sailed in pursuit of D'Estaing. The two fleets were on the point of engaging when separated by a violent LVIII. 1778. storm; there were only conflicts between some CHAP. single ships, in which the honour of the British Flag was worthily maintained. D'Estaing now declared, that his fleet was so far damaged by the tempest as to compel him to put into Boston harbour and refit. In this resolution he persisted, although Sullivan, Greene, and other American officers altogether denied the necessity, and even transmitted to him a written protest against it, couched in acrimonious terms. Certain it is that the course which D'Estaing pursued on this occasion, not only forced the Americans to relinquish their enterprise upon Rhode Island, but roused up among them a bitter feeling against the French. To such an extent was this animosity carried, that riots ensued in the streets of Boston between the American seamen and their new allies. During this time Sir Henry Clinton sent out several expeditions in various quarters. At Old Tappan a body of American horsemen, under Colonel Baylor, were surprised and routed, or put to the sword. In Egg Harbour great part of Count Pulasky's foreign legion was cut to pieces. At Buzzard's Bay, and on the island called Martha's Vineyard, many American ships were taken or destroyed, storehouses burned, and contributions of sheep and oxen levied. In these expeditions the principal commander was General Charles Grey, an officer of great zeal and ardour, whom the Americans sometimes surnamed "the No-flint General," from his common practice of ordering his men to СНАР. LVIII. 1778. Sir Henry had also received secret instructions from his Government to make a further detachment of 5000 men to the West Indies, the object being an attack on St. Lucia. These troops he sent according to his orders. Certainly, however, he had good reason for observing at the same time to the Secretary of State :-"With an army so "much diminished at New York, nothing import"ant can be done, especially as it is also weakened by sending 700 men to Halifax, and 300 to Ber"muda."* Indeed, for many months afterwards the army at New York could fulfil little more than the duties of a garrison. 66 Early in November Count D'Estaing, with the French squadron, quitted the port of Boston, and sailed for the West Indies, there to pursue exclusively French objects. Deep was the disappointment, and loud the animadversion, of the Americans in the northern provinces. They had formed the most sanguine hopes from the French alliance. They had found that alliance as yet little better than a name. Moreover, just before the departure of D'Estaing, he had given them another valid reason for displeasure. He had issued a proclamation to the people of Canada, inviting, though in guarded terms, their return to the sway of their former Sovereign. It need scarcely be observed that such views were most directly repugnant to the terms of the treaty signed only nine months To Lord George Germaine, October 8. 1778. LVIII. 1778. before. Nor did it seem easy to believe, as is still CHAP. asserted, that D'Estaing was acting in utter ignorance of the real intentions of his Court. * Under such circumstances, the conduct of the majority of Congress was such as to justify, in a most striking manner, the complaints of their incapacity which we find in Washington's private letters at this period. They eagerly embraced a project from La Fayette for another invasion of Canada, to be concerted between themselves and the Court of Versailles; and they shut their eyes to the obvious probability, that the King of France would insist on retaining Canada, if conquered by his aid. From this risk, as from so many others, both before and since, was the Congress rescued by the foresight and the firmness of Washington. He induced them, though not without great difficulty, to postpone, at least, this favourite scheme. Thus he expostulated with the President :-" France, "-acknowledged for some time past the most powerful monarchy in Europe by land, able "now to dispute the empire of the sea with “Great Britain, and if joined with Spain, I may 66 say, certainly superior, -if possessed of New * See a note to Mr. Sparks's edition of Washington's Writings, vol. vi. p. 113.; and the Life of Gouverneur Morris, vol. i. p. 189. The Proclamation itself appears in the Ann. Regist. 1779, p. 355. D'Estaing says to the Canadians: "To "bear the arms of parricides against it" (your mother country) "must be the completion of misfortunes." But was not this rather dangerous ground for him to touch upon with his new allies? |