Entrance to Prescott's Room.

Seizure of the General and his Aid-de-camp.

Barton rewarded by Congress.

July 11, 1777.

them to be friends, and was not undeceived until his musket was seized, and himself bound and menaced with instant death if he made any noise. The doors had been secured by the division from the rear, and Barton entered the front passage boldly. Mr. Overton sat alone, reading, the rest of the family being in bed. Barton inquired for General Prescott's room. Overton pointed upward, signifying that it was directly over the room in which they were standing. With four strong men, and Sisson, a powerful negro who accompanied them, Barton ascended the stairs and gently tried the door. It was locked; no time was to be lost in parleying; the negro drew back a couple of paces, and using his head for a battering-ram, burst open the door at the first effort. The general, supposing the intruders to be robbers, sprang from his bed, and seized his gold watch that was hanging upon the wall. Barton placed his hand gently upon the general's shoulder, told him he was his prisoner, and that perfect silence was now his only safety. Prescott begged time to dress, but it being a hot July night, and time precious, Barton refused acquiescence, feeling that it would not be cruel to take him across. the bay, where he could make his toilet with more care, at his leisure. So, throwing his cloak around him, and placing him between two armed men, the prisoner was hurried to the shore. In the mean time, Major Barrington, Prescott's aid, hearing the noise in the general's room, leaped from a window to escape, but was captured. He and the sentinel were stationed in the center of the party. At about midnight captors and prisoners landed at Warwick Point, where General Prescott first broke the silence by saying to Colonel Barton, Sir, you have made a bold push to-night." "We have been fortunate," coolly replied Barton. Captain Elliot was there with a coach to convey the prisoners to Providence, where they arrived at sunrise. Prescott was kindly treated by General Spencer and other officers, and in the course of a few days was sent to the head-quarters of Washington, at New Windsor, on the Hudson. On his way the scene occurred in the Alden Tavern at Lebanon, mentioned on page 35. Prescott was exchanged for General Charles Lee' in April following, and soon afterward resumed his command of the British troops on Rhode Island. This was the same Prescott who treated Colonel Ethan Allen so cruelly when that officer was taken prisoner near Montreal in the autumn of 1775. On account of the bravery displayed and the importance of the service in this expedition, Congress, having a "just sense of the gallant behavior of Lieutenant-colonel Barton, and the brave officers and men of his party, who distinguished their valor and address in making prisoner of Major-general Prescott, of the British army, and Major William Barrington, his aid-de-camp," voted Barton an elegant sword; and on the 24th of December following, he was promoted to the rank and pay of colonel in the Continental army.' General Sullivan was appointed to the command of the American troops in Rhode Island in the spring of 1778, at about the time when Prescott resumed his command of the enemy's forces. The latter, incensed and mortified by his capture and imprisonment, determined to gratify his thirst for revenge. Under pretense of an anticipated attack upon the isl and, he sent a detachment of five hundred men up the bay on the 24th of May, to de- 1778. stroy the American boats and other property that fell in their way. At daylight the next morning they landed between Warren and Bristol, and proceeded in two divisions to execute their orders. One party, who proceeded to the Kickemuet River, destroyed seventy flat-bottomed boats and a state galley; the other burned the meeting-house and a number of dwellings at Warren, and plundered and abused the inhabitants in various ways. The females were robbed of their shoe-buckles, finger-rings, and other valuables, and live stock were driven away for the use of the British army. They then proceeded to Bristol, and fired

1778.

July 25,

1777.

dence, the grounds around it being finely shaded by willows, elms, and sycamores. The present occupant kindly showed me the room in which Prescott was lying at the time of his capture. It is on the second floor, at the southwest corner of the house, or on the right as seen in the engraving. It is a well-built frame house, and was probably then the most spacious mansion on the island out of Newport.

1 General Lee had been captured at Baskingridge, in New Jersey, in December, 1776, while passing from the Hudson to join Washington on the Delaware.

2 Journals of Congress, iii., 241.

3

Ibid., 459.

Predatory Excursions. French Fleet for America. Count d'Estaing. France and England.

Excitement in Parliament.

the Episcopal church (mistaking it for a dissenters' meeting-house), burned twenty-two dwellings, and carried off considerable plunder. A few days afterward, another marauding party of a hundred and fifty burned the mills at Tiverton, and attempted to set fire to and plunder the town, but a resolute band of twenty-five men kept them at bay, effectually disputing their passage across the bridge. Satisfied with this great display of prowess and vengeance, Prescott refrained from further hostile movements, until called upon to defend himself against the combined attacks of an American army and a French fleet.

I have noticed on pages 86 and 87, vol. i., the treaty of alliance and commerce concluded between the United States and France on the 6th of

February, 1778. Pursuant to the stipulations of that treaty, a French squadron for the American service was fitted out at Toulon, consisting of twelve ships of the line, and four frigates of superior size. Count d'Estaing, a brave and successful naval officer, was

1778.

1778.

On

appointed to the command, and on the 13th of April the fleet sailed for America. Silas Deane, one of the American commissioners, and M. Gerard, the first appointed French minister to the United States, came passengers in the Languedoc, D'Estaing's flag-ship. Authentic information of the sailing of this expedition reached the British cabinet on the 4th of May. Some of the ministers being out of town, a cabinet council was not held until the 6th, when it was determined speedily to dispatch a powerful squadron, then at Portsmouth, to America. the 20th, Admirals Byron and Hyde Parker, with twenty-two ships of the line, weighed anchor. Doubtful of the destination of D'Estaing, and not knowing that Deane and Gerard were with him, ministers countermanded the order for sailing, and the squadron, overtaken by an express, returned to Plymouth, where it remained until the 5th of June, when it again sailed under the command of Admiral Byron alone.' The conduct of the French government, in thus openly giving aid, by treaty and arms, to the revolted colonies, aroused the ire, not only of ministers, but of the people of Great Britain, in whose bosoms the embers of ancient feuds were not wholly extinct. In Parliament, which was just on the eve of adjournment, ministers moved an appropriate address to the king. The opposition proposed an amendment requesting his majesty to dismiss the ministry! A furious debate arose, but the original address was carried by a majority of two hundred and sixty-three against one hundred and thirteen in the Commons, and an equally

The French envoy, De Noailles (uncle of La Fayette's wife), delivered a rescript to Lord Weymouth on the 17th of March, in which he informed the British court of the treaty. While in it he professed in the name of the government a desire to maintain amicable relations with Great Britain, and declared that the "court of London" would find in his communication "new proofs of his majesty's [Louis XVI.] constant and sincere disposition for peace," he plainly warned it that his sovereign, "being determined to protect effectually the lawful commerce of his subjects, and to maintain the dignity of his flag, had, in consequence, taken effectual measures, in concert with the Thirteen United and Independent States of America." This note greatly incensed the British ministry, for they considered it more than half ironical in language, and intentionally insulting in spirit. Orders were issued for the seizure of all French vessels in English ports. A similar order was issued by the French government. War thus actually commenced between the two nations, though not formally declared.

2 Charles Henry Count d'Estaing was a native of Auvergne, in France. He was under the famous Count Lally, governor general of the French possessions in the East Indies, in 1756. He was taken prisoner by the English, but escaped by breaking his parole. He was commander at the taking of Grenada after his services in America. He became a member of the Assembly of Notables in the French Revolution, and, being suspected of unfriendliness to the Terrorists, was guillotined on the 29th of April, 1793.

3 Admiral Byron carried with him to Earl Howe, the naval commander on the American coast, a permit for that officer to return to England, pursuant to his own urgent request. Byron became his successor in the chief command.

The King's Speech.

Boldness of the Opposition."

The British and French Fleets.

Sandy Hook and Amboy Bay

decided majority in the Upper House. Parliament soon afterward adjourned, and did not meet again until November, when the king, in his speech at the opening, directed the attention of the Legislature to the conduct of France. After speaking of the good faith of Great Britain, and the quiet then prevailing in Europe, he said, "In a time of profound peace, without pretense of provocation or color of complaint, the court of France hath not forborne to disturb the public tranquillity, in violation of the faith of treaties and the general rights of sovereigns; at first by the clandestine supply of arms and other aid to my revolted subjects in North America; afterward by avowing openly their support, and entering into formal engagements with the leaders of the rebellion; and at length by committing open hostilities and depredations on my faithful subjects, and by an actual invasion of my dominions in America and the West Indies." He alluded to the want of success in America, the means that had been put forth to suppress the rebellion, the complete failure of the commissioners to conclude a peace, and the evident preparations for hostilities which Spain was making. He closed his address by calling upon Parliament to put forth their utmost energies which the crisis demanded, assuring them that his cordial co-operation would always be extended, and informed them that he had called out the militia for the defense of the country. In fact, the king carefully avoided casting censure upon ministers for the late miscarriages in America, and, by implication, fixed the blame upon the commanders in that service. The address was warmly opposed in both houses, and in the Commons the king was accused of falsehood—uttering "a false, unjust, and illiberal slander on the commanders in the service of the crown; loading them with a censure which ought to fall on ministers alone." Yet ministers were still supported by pretty large majorities in both houses, while the war-spirit, renewed by the French alliance, was hourly increasing among the multitude without.' After a voyage of eighty-seven days, the French squadron arrived on the coast, July 8, 1778 and anchored at the entrance of Delaware Bay. Howe, with his fleet, had, fortunately for himself, left the Delaware a few days before, and was anchored off Sandy Hook, to co-operate with the British land forces under Clinton, then proceeding from Philadelphia to New York. On learning this fact, Deane and Gerard proceeded immediately up the Delaware to Philadelphia, where Congress was then in session. After communicating with that body, D'Estaing weighed anchor and sailed for Sandy Hook. Howe was within the Hook, in Raritan or Amboy Bay, whither D'Estaing could not with safety attempt to follow him with his large vessels, on account of a sand-bar extending to Staten Island from Sandy Hook. He anchored near the Jersey shore, not far from the mouth of the Shrewsbury River.

On the 22d of July, D'Estaing sailed with his squadron, at the urgent request of Washington, to co-operate with General Sullivan, then preparing to make an attempt

Lossing's "1776," p. 274.

1778.

It was during this progress of the British army toward New York that the Americans, under the immediate command of Washington, pursued and overtook them near Monmouth court-house, in New Jersey, where a severe battle occurred on the 28th of June, 1778.

3 Congress had sat at York, in Pennsylvania, from the time of the entrance of the British into Philadelphia in the autumn of 1777, until the 30th of June, 1778, after the evacuation of that city by the enemy

under Clinton.

Howe's fleet consisted of only six 64 gun ships, three of 50, and two of 40, with some frigates and sloops. Several of D'Estaing's ships were of great bulk and weight of metal, one carrying 90, another 80. and six 74 guns each. Had D'Estaing arrived a little sooner, and caught Howe's fleet in the Delaware, he might easily have captured or destroyed it; and doubtless the land forces of the enemy would have shared the fate of those under Burgoyne at Saratoga.

5 Sandy Hook, in form and extent, has been greatly changed since the time in question. According to a map, in my possession, of the State of New York, published under the direction of Governor Tryon, in 1779. Sandy Hook was a low point, extending northward from the Highlands of Neversink or Navesink. The sandy bar on which the Ocean House, at the mouth of the Neversink River, now stands, forming a sound many miles in extent, was not then in existence; and it was not until the sea made a breach across the neck of Sandy Hook in 1778, that there was a passage within it along the base of the Highlands from the Rari tan or Amboy Bay. Now the water is from thirty to forty feet in depth in the main ship channel, imme diately above the east beacon on Sandy Hook, quite sufficient to allow ships as heavy as D'Estaing's to enter

General Spencer's Expedition against Rhode Island. His Resignation. French Fleet off Newport. American Land Forces.

to expel the enemy from Rhode Island.

In consequence of the failure, on the part of General Spencer, to carry out the plan of an expedition against the British on Rhode Island in 1777, Congress ordered an inquiry into the cause. This expedition was arranged by General Spencer at considerable expense, and with fair promises of success. The Americans

September,

1777.

were stationed at Tiverton, near the present stone bridge, and had actually embarked in their boats to cross over to Rhode Island to surprise the enemy, when Spencer prudently countermanded the order. He had ascertained that the British commander was apprised of his intentions, and seeing no effort on the part of the enemy to oppose his

landing, apprehended some stratagem that might be fatal. Such, indeed, was the fact. The British had determined to allow the Americans to land and march some distance upon the island, when they would cut off their retreat by destroying their boats, and thus make them captives. General Spencer, indignant at the censure implied in the proposed inquiry of Congress, resigned his commission, and General Sullivan was appointed in his place.'

The French fleet appeared off the har- 1778. bor of Newport on the 29th of July, and the next morning, to the great joy of the inhabitants, the vessels of the allies were anchored near Brenton's Reef, where General Sullivan had a conference with the admiral, and a plan of operations was agreed upon. One of the ships ran up the channel west of Canonicut, and anchored at the north point of that island.

Washington had directed Sullivan to call upon Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut for five thousand militia. The call was made,

and promptly responded to. The Massachusetts militia marched under John Hancock as general; and so great was the enthusiasm engendered by the presence of the French squadron, that thousands of volunteers, gentlemen and oth-' ers, from Boston, Salem, Newburyport, Portsmouth, &c., engaged in the service. Two brigades of Continental infantry, under La Fayette, were sent from the main army; and the whole force, ten thousand strong, was arranged in two divisions, under the immediate command of Generals Greene and La Fayette.

On the morning of the 5th of August, D'Es

1 Joseph Spencer was born at East Haddam, in Connecticut, in 1714. He was a major in the colonial army in 1756, and was one of the first eight brigadiers appointed by the Continental Congress in 1775. He was appointed a major general in August, 1776, and in 1777 was in command of the American forces on Rhode Island. After his resignation he was elected a delegate to Congress from his native state. He died at East Haddam in January, 1789, aged seventy-five years.

2 Hildreth, iii., 252.

3 Gordon, ii., 369. His prudence, military

General Greene was then the quarter-master general of the Continental army. skill, and the fact that he was a Rhode Islander, induced Washington to dispatch him to that field of operations at that time.

5 The letters upon the map indicate the position of the following named objects: A, head-quarters of Prescott when he was captured; C D, the two British lines across the island, the former extending from

Landing of Americans on Rhode Island.

Naval Battle.

Great Storm.

Destruction of British Vessels.

taing commenced operations. Two of his vessels approached to the attack of four British frigates (the Orpheus, Lark, Juno, and Cerberus) and some smaller vessels, lying near Prudence Island. Unable to fight successfully or to escape, the enemy set fire to all these vessels, and soon afterward sunk two others (the Flora and Falcon), to prevent their falling into the hands of D'Estaing. Unfortunately, the American troops were not quite prepared to co-operate with the French fleet. Although Sullivan had every thing in readiness at Providence, a delay in the arrival of troops prevented his departure for Rhode Island, and it was nearly a week before he was prepared to make a descent upon it. This delay was the occasion of great difficulty, and proved fatal to the enterprise.

August, 1778.

On the 10th, according to agreement, the whole American force, in two divisions, crossed from Tiverton in eighty-six flat-bottomed boats,' prepared under the direction of the energetic Major Talbot, and landed on the north end of the island, where it was to be joined by four thousand marines from the French squadron. The British had just been re-enforced, and were about six thousand strong, under the immediate command of Sir Robert Pigot. They abandoned their works on the north part of the island when the Americans landed, and retired within their strongly-intrenched lines about three miles above Newport. Perceiving this movement, Sullivan ordered the Americans to advance, without waiting for the landing of the French troops. They moved from the ferry, and in the afternoon encamped upon the high ground known as Quaker Hill, between ten and eleven miles north. of Newport.

1778.

August 10, 1778.

Within five days after D'Estaing left Sandy Hook, four British men-of-war had arrived singly at New York. With this re-enforcement Howe determined to proceed to the relief of his majesty's army on Rhode Island. He appeared off Newport harbor with a August, fleet of twenty-five sail on the afternoon of the 9th; and the next morning, D'Estaing, instead of landing his marines according to agreement, spread his sails to a favorable breeze, and sailed out of the harbor, under a severe cannonade from the British batteries, to attack Admiral Howe. It was about eight o'clock in the morning when the French fleet went out into the open sea, and all that day the two naval commanders contended for the weather-gage. This maneuvering prevented an engagement. The next morning the wind had increased to a gale, and a violent tempest, that raged for nearly forty-eight hours,' separated the belligerents. Two of the French ships were dismasted, and the count's flag-ship lost her rudder and all her masts. In this condition she was borne down upon by a British frigate under full sail, from which she received a broadside, but with little damage. Another of the French disabled vessels was attacked in the same way, the assailants sheering off after firing a single broadside; but the junction of six sail of the French squadron on the 14th prevented other attacks on the crippled ships. On the 16th, the French seventy-four gun ship Cæsar and the British fifty gun ship Iris had a 'Tonomy Hill, H, and the latter crossing the slope near Rose Island, near Newport; E, the American lines between Quaker and Turkey Hills and Butts's Hill, at the north end of the island; F, the position of the Americans, with their batteries, when preparing to attack the British lines and waiting for D'Estaing; G, Barker's Hill, fortified by the British; H, 'Tonomy Hill; O, the west or Narraganset passage of the bay; P, the middle; and Q, the east or Seaconet passage. The Bristol Ferry, across which the Americans retreated, is named on the map. It was at the narrowest place, a line to the right of the word Butts. There were fortifications upon Gold, Rose, Goat, and Contour Islands, as well as upon Canonicut, ruins of which are still visible. The short double lines upon the map, immediately above the letter N in Newport, mark the site of the present Fort Adams, the Castle Hill of the Revolution, and opposite, upon a point of Canonicut, is the Dumplings Fort, or Fort Canonicut, now a picturesque ruin.

1 These boats were capable of bearing one hundred men each. They were fitted out with great dispatch, and Talbot, who directed the operations, became so wearied by over-exertions, that he slept soundly, for a long time, under one of them, while the hammers of the caulkers, who were at work by candle-light, were rattling over his head.—Tuckerman's Life of Talbot, p. 47.

2 A ship is said to have the weather-gage when she is at the windward of another vessel. In naval engagements, obtaining the weather-gage is an important desideratum for the contending squadrons.

66

3 This storm is still spoken of by the older inhabitants of Newport as the great storm," accounts of which they had received from their parents. So violent was the wind, that the spray was brought by it from the ocean, and incrusted the windows in the town with salt.