and rivulet in front, and his right was protected by an abattis, or fence of trees cut down, with their top branches pointed and turned outward.

Sir William Howe thinking that General Washington, encouraged by his rein forcements, would hazard a battle for the recovery of the capital of Pennsylvania, or that a successful attack might be made on his position, marched from Phila delphia on the evening of the 4th of December, and next morning took post on Chestnut Hill, in front of the right wing of the American army. During the two succeeding days, General Howe made several movements in front of the hostile encampment, and some skirmishing ensued. But General Washington remained within his lines; and Sir William Howe, deeming it unadvisable to attack him there, and seeing no probability of being able to provoke him to engage on more equal terms, returned with his army, on the 8th of December, to Philadelphia. At that time the two armies were nearly equal in point of numerical force, each consisting of upward of 14,000 men. Soon afterward General Washington quitted White Marsh, crossed the Schuylkill, and took post. at Valley Forge, where he spent the winter, about twenty-six miles from Philadelphia.

During the active part of the campaign the British army was most numerous; and although, in the beginning of December, the numerical force of the two armies was nearly equal, yet there was a great difference in the quality and equipment of the troops. Those under Sir William Howe were veterans, accustomed to the most exact discipline and subordination, well armed, and abundantly supplied with military stores and other necessaries; but those under General Washington were for the most part raw levies, ill-disciplined, imperfectly armed, and strangers to military subordination; hence the Americans were unable to meet the royal troops on equal terms. General Washington was obliged to occupy strong positions, and to be wary in all his movements; and although Sir William Howe was successful in all his operations, yet he gained nothing by the campaign but good winter quarters in Philadelphia.

While the events now related were happening in the middle states, most important transactions were going on in the north, to which we shall now turn our attention.

We left the retreating American army, after its unsuccessful irruption into Canada, at Ticonderoga, in the month of November, 1776. That army was composed chiefly of soldiers enlisted for a short period only, and consequently it melted away during the winter, as the term of service for which the men were engaged expired.

The cantonments of the British northern army, extending from Isle aux Noix and Montreal to Quebec, were so distant from each other that they could not readily have afforded mutual support in case of an attack; but the Americans were in no condition to avail themselves of this circumstance. They could scarcely keep up even the appearance of garrisons in their forts, and were apprehensive of an attack on Ticonderoga, as soon as the ice was strong enough to afford an easy passage to troops over the lakes.

At the close of the preceding campaign General Gates had joined the army under General Washington; and the command of the army in the northern department, comprehending Albany, Ticonderoga, Fort Stanwix, and their dependencies, remained in the hands of General Schuyler. The services of that meritorious officer had not been duly valued by congress, which was slow in discerning real and unostentatious merit. Disgusted at the injustice which he had experienced, he was restrained from leaving the army merely by the deep interest which he took in the arduous struggle in which his country was engaged; but after a full investigation of his conduct during the whole of his cominand, congress was at length convinced of the value of his services, and requested him to continue at the head of the army of the northern department. Tha:

army he found too weak for the services which it was expected to perform, and ill supplied with arms, clothes, and provisions. He made every exertion to organize and place it on a respectable footing for the ensuing campaign; but his means were scanty, and the new levies arrived slowly. General St. Clair, who had served under Gates, commanded at Ticonderoga, and, including militia, had nearly 3,000 men under him; but the works were extensive, and would have required 10,000 men to man them fully.

The British ministry had resolved to prosecute the war vigorously on the northern frontier of the United States, and appointed General Burgoyne, who had served under General Carleton in the preceding campaign, to command the royal army in that quarter.

General Burgoyne had visited England during the winter, concerted with ministry a plan of the campaign, and given an estimate of the force necessary for its successful execution. Besides a fine train of artillery and a suitable body of artillerymen, an' army, consisting of more than 7,000 veteran troops, excellently equipped, and in a high state of discipline, was put under his command Besides this regular force, he had a great number of Canadians and savages.

General Burgoyne was assisted by a number of distinguished officers, among whom were Generals Philips, Frazer, Powel, Hamilton, Reidesel, and Specht. A suitable naval armament, under the orders of Commodore Lutwych, attended the expedition.

After detaching Colonel St. Leger with a body of light troops and Indians, amounting to about 800 men, by the way of Lake Oswego and the Mohawk river, to make a diversion in that quarter, and to join him when he advanced to the Hudson, General Burgoyne left St. John's on the 16th of June, and, preceded by his naval armament, sailed up Lake Champlain, and in a few days landed and encamped at Crown Point, earlier in the season than the Americans had thought it possible for him to reach that place.

He met his Indian allies, and, in imitation of a savage partisan, gave them a war-feast, at which, with well meant but useless zeal, he made them a speech, in order to inflame their courage and repress their barbarous cruelty. He next issued a lofty proclamation, addressed to the inhabitants of the country, in which, as if certain of victory, he threatened to punish with the utmost severity those who refused to attach themselves to the royal cause. He talked of the ferocity of the Indians, and their eagerness to butcher the friends of independence, and he graciously promised protection to those who should return to their duty. The proclamation was so far from answering the general's intention that it was derided by the people as a model of pomposity.

Having made the necessary arrangements, on the 30th of June General Burgoyne advanced cautiously on both sides of the narrow channel which connects Lakes Champlain and George, the British on the west, and the German auxiliaries on the east, with the naval force in the centre, forming a communication between the two divisions of the army; and on the 1st of July his van appeared in sight of Ticonderoga.

The river Sorel issues from the north end of Lake Champlain, and throws its superfluous waters into the St. Lawrence. Lake Champlain is about eighty miles long from north to south, and about fourteen miles broad where it is widest. Crown Point stands at what may properly be considered the south end of the lake, although a narrow channel, which retains the name of the lake, proceeds southward, and forms a communication with South river and the waters of Lake George.

Ticonderoga is on the west side of the narrow channel, twelve miles south from Crown Point. It is a rocky angle of land, washed on three sides by the water, and partly covered on the fourth side by a deep morass. On the space

on the northwest quarter, between the morass and the channel, the French had formerly constructed lines of fortification, which still remained, and those lines the Americans had strengthened by additional works.

Opposite Ticonderoga, on the east side of the channel, which is here between 300 and 400 yards wide, stands a high circular hill, called Mount Independence, which had been occupied by the Americans when they abandoned Crown Point, and carefully fortified. On the top of it, which is flat, they had erected a fort, and provided it sufficiently with artillery. Near the foot of the mountain, which extends to the water's edge, they had raised entrenchments, and mounted them with heavy guns, and had covered those lower works by a battery about half way up the hill.

With prodigious labor they had constructed a communication between those two posts, by means of a wooden bridge which was supported by twenty-two strong wooden pillars, placed at nearly equal distances from each other. The spaces between the pillars were filled up by separate floats, strongly fastened to each other and to the pillars, by chains and rivets. The bridge was twelve feet wide, and the side of it next Lake Champlain was defended by a boom formed of large pieces of timber, bolted and bound together by double iron chains an inch and a half thick. Thus an easy communication was established between Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and the passage of vessels up the strait prevented.

Immediately after passing Ticonderoga, the channel becomes wider, and, on the southeast side, receives a large body of water from a stream, at that point called South river, but higher up, named Wood Creek. From the southwest come the waters flowing from Lake George; and in the angle formed by the confluence of those two streams rises a steep and rugged eminence called Sugai Hill, which overlooks and commands both Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. That hill had been examined by the Americans; but General St. Clair considering the force under his command insufficient to occupy the extensive works of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and flattering himself that the extreme difficulty of the ascent would prevent the British from availing themselves of it, neglected to take possession of Sugar Hill. It may be remarked that the north end of Lake George is between two and three miles above Ticonderoga; but the channel leading to it is interrupted by rapids and shallows, and is unfit for navigation. Lake George is narrow, but is thirty-five miles long, extending from northeast to southwest. At the head of it stood a fort of the same name, strong enough to resist an attack of Indians, but incapable of making any effectual opposition to regular troops. Nine miles beyond it was Fort Edward, on the Hudson.

On the appearance of General Burgoyne's van, General St. Clair had no accurate knowledge of the strength of the British army, having heard nothing of the reinforcement from Europe. He imagined that they would attempt to take the fort by assault, and flattered himself that he would easily be able to repulse them. But, on the second of July, the British appeared in great force on both sides of the channel, and encamped four miles from the forts; while the fleet anchored just beyond the reach of the guns. After a slight resistance, General Burgoyne took possession of Mount Hope, an important post on the south of Ticonderoga, which commanded part of the lines of that fort, as well as the channel leading to Lake George; and extended his lines so as completely to invest the fort on the west side. The German division under General Reidesel occupied the eastern bank of the channel, and sent forward a detachment to the vicinity of the rivulet which flows from Mount Independence. General Burgoyne now labored assiduously in bringing forward his artillery and completing his communications. On the 5th of the month he caused Sugar Hill to be ex

amined; and, being informed that the ascent, though difficult, was not impracti cable, he immediately resolved to take possession of it, and proceeded with such activity in raising works and mounting guns upon it, that his battery might have been opened on the garrison next day.

These operations received no check from the besieged; because, as it has been alleged, they were not in a condition to give way. General St. Clair was now nearly surrounded. Only the space between the stream which flows from Mount Independence and South river remained open; and that was to be occupied next day.

In these circumstances it was requisite for the garrison to come to a prompt and decisive resolution; either, at every hazard, to defend the place to the last extremity, or immediately to abandon it. St. Clair called a council of war, the members of which unanimously advised the immediate evacuation of the forts: and preparations were instantly made for carrying this resolution into execution. The British had the command of the communication with Lake George; and consequently the garrison could not escape in that direction. The retreat could be effected by the South river only. Accordingly the invalids, the hospital, and such stores as could be most easily removed, were put on board 200 boats, and, escorted by Colonel Long's regiment, proceeded, on the night between the 5th and 6th of July, up the South river toward Skenesborough. The garrisons of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence marched by land through Castletown, toward the same place. The troops were ordered to march out in profound silence, and particularly to set nothing on fire. But these prudent orders were disobeyed; and, before the rear-guard was in motion, the house on Mount Independence, which General Fermoy had occupied, was seen in flames. That served as a signal to the enemy, who immediately entered the works, and fired,. but without effect, on the rear of the retreating army.

General Burgoyne instantly resolved on a rapid pursuit. Commodore Lut wych began to cut the boom, and break down the bridge between Ticonderoga and Mount Independence; and so great was his activity that, although the Americans had labored ten months on the work, he opened a passage for his fleet by nine in the morning.

A number of gun-boats, under Captain Carter, were detached in pursuit of that. part of the American force which had retreated up South river; and they proceeded with such rapidity, that at three in the afternoon they overtook the retreating enemy, brought them to action near the falls of Skenesborough, took two of their five galleys, and compelled them to burn the other three and their boats. At Skenesborough the Americans did not long remain; for understanding that General Burgoyne, who with part of his army had sailed up the South river in boats, had landed at South bay, below Skenesborough, they set fire to the works, and, without any considerable loss of men, retreated to Fort Ann, higher up Wood creek. But they lost all their baggage, and a great quantity of provisions and military stores, which were either destroyed by themselves or taken, by the British.

The operations against the main body of the garrison, which retreated by land, were not less active. General Frazer, at the head of a body of grenadiers and light infantry, pursued them; and was supported by General Reidesel. General St. Clair, convinced that his safety lay in the rapidity of his movements. marched with great diligence, and in the evening of the day on which he abandoned the forts reached Castletown, thirty miles from Ticonderoga; but his rear-guard, consisting of 1,200 men, under Colonel Warner, on account of fatigue, halted at Hubbardtown, six miles behind the rest of the army.

On the evening of the 6th of July, General Frazer arrived near Hubbardtown ;. and being informed that the rear of the enemy was at no great distance, he or-