The Story of American History Part 18

When the right moment came, leaving a small force at New York for show, Was.h.i.+ngton by a swift and skillful movement moved his army of six thousand through New Jersey. The Commander-in-Chief was unsurpa.s.sed at keeping a secret. His own generals did not know where they were going.

They marched to Elkton, at the head of the Chesapeake, and took s.h.i.+ps for Yorktown.

The hour for the final success of the patriot cause had now come.

Cornwallis was shut in by sea and land. Was.h.i.+ngton with his own hand fired the first cannon of the attack. This was on October 9, 1781.

By night and by day the sound of the heavy guns was incessantly heard.

The sh.e.l.ls of the besieged and besiegers crossed each other in the air.

At one time during the siege Was.h.i.+ngton, with many officers about him, was watching an a.s.sault with intense interest. Those who stood near him were afraid he would be hit by a chance shot, and one of his aids ventured to say that the situation was very much exposed.

"If you think so," replied he gravely, "you are at liberty to step back."

A little later a musket ball hit a cannon near the group and fell at Was.h.i.+ngton's feet. General Knox grasped his arm.

"My dear general," exclaimed he, "we can't spare you yet."

"It is a spent ball," answered the Commander-in-Chief quietly; "no harm is done."

When the redoubts were taken, he drew a long breath and said to Knox, "The work is done, and _well done_!" During the battle, a famous Virginia officer, Governor Nelson, who had raised troops and supplied money at his own risk, was asked what part of the town it would be best to fire upon. He pointed to a large, handsome building, which he thought was probably the enemy's headquarters. It was his own house!

=213. The Superb Victory at Yorktown.=--After a few days of fighting, Cornwallis found himself in so hopeless a condition that he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape. Shortly afterward he was forced to surrender with eleven thousand men, a hundred and sixty cannon, a huge amount of camp supplies, and ten thousand dollars in money. Five days after the surrender, General Clinton arrived with s.h.i.+ps and heavy reinforcements. Too late, Sir Henry, too late!

When the news of the capture of Cornwallis reached London, Lord North, the British Prime Minister, walked up and down his room, wringing his hands and crying out, "O G.o.d! it is all over! It is all over!"

How unspeakably the great leader's heart must have rejoiced at this famous victory; the labors, anxieties, and sufferings of seven years ending at last in glorious triumph! The whole country gave way to transports of joy. Congress appointed a day of general thanksgiving and prayer, and voted special thanks to the distinguished generals and many other officers. It was felt that a death-blow had been given to England's efforts to crush the colonies.

The victory at Yorktown practically ended the war. It took several years for the country to recover from the wreck and ruin wrought, to frame the machinery of our new government, and to lay the solid foundations of this grand edifice of const.i.tutional liberty. In all this work of nation-building Was.h.i.+ngton was a prominent actor, no less sagacious as a statesman than as a skilled warrior.

=214. Was.h.i.+ngton, the First President of the United States.=--When it came to the choice of a first president, all eyes turned to that one stately figure--to him who had saved his country in war, and who in peace could best carry its precious interests safely in his great brain and heart.

He was unanimously elected--not a vote for any other person--an honor never paralleled. With his usual modesty he would have declined; but his sense of duty and his willingness to serve his country made him accept.

His journey to New York was one continued ovation. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and eloquent addresses made. All the vessels in New York harbor were gayly decked with flags. When the dignified President-elect landed, the salutes of cannon, the ringing of bells, and the shouts of the crowd were multiplied tenfold.

On April 30, 1789, Was.h.i.+ngton took the solemn oath to perform the duties of the President of the United States.

On this important occasion he was dressed in a suit of dark brown cloth of American manufacture. He wore white silk stockings, silver buckles and a steel-hilted sword. His hair was powdered and tied behind, according to the fas.h.i.+on of that time. The day was given up to rejoicings; and in the evening there were illuminations and fireworks.

Was.h.i.+ngton was reelected, and served his country honorably for two terms of four years each. His administration was worthy in every way of his great ability, his statesmans.h.i.+p, and his exalted patriotism.

=215. Was.h.i.+ngton retires to Private Life.=--Beloved and honored by a whole people, but weary of public life, Was.h.i.+ngton at last retired to his beautiful and beloved Mount Vernon to enjoy a well-earned repose. He took up his former manner of living. He began to repair his buildings and to improve his estate. His good wife, Martha, said that she and the general when he left the presidency felt like children just released from school, and she spoke of her satisfaction in settling down again to the "duties of an old-fas.h.i.+oned Virginia housekeeper, steady as a clock, busy as a bee, and cheerful as a cricket."

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARTHA WAs.h.i.+NGTON.]

Was.h.i.+ngton was a model farmer. He gave personal attention to every detail. He rode on horseback ten or fifteen miles every morning, looking after his estate and its servants. Two o'clock was the dinner hour; three o'clock if there were guests of importance. The general would not wait more than five minutes for any guest, however distinguished. So much time he allowed for the difference of watches. "My cook," said he, "does not ask whether the guests have arrived, but whether the hour has."

Was.h.i.+ngton's dress and appearance were very simple. "How shall I know him?" asked a gentleman who was about to ride off in search of him.

"You will meet, sir," replied his friend, "an old gentleman riding alone in plain drab clothes, a broad-brimmed white hat, a hickory switch in his hand, and an umbrella with a long staff attached to his saddle-bow.

That person, sir, is General Was.h.i.+ngton."

A pleasant story is told by a gentleman who was a guest at Mount Vernon.

It seems that he coughed much during the early part of the night. "After some time had elapsed," said the guest, "the door of my room was gently opened, and, on drawing my bed curtains, I saw Was.h.i.+ngton himself, standing at my bedside, with a bowl of hot tea in his hand."

No wish for power, or regret at being no longer before the eyes of the world, ever disturbed the happiness of Was.h.i.+ngton in his retirement. A little over two years now pa.s.sed happily at the great mansion, with its generous living and its gracious hospitality.

=216. Sickness and Death; Universal Sorrow.=--One day in December, 1799, while taking his usual ride on horseback Was.h.i.+ngton was exposed to rain, hail, and snow, with a raw wind blowing. The next day his family noticed that he had a slight cold, but he paid no heed to such trifling ailments.

The next day he was much worse, breathed with difficulty, and could hardly speak. His mind was perfectly clear, and he believed he should not get well. He was never unprepared for death. The same night he pa.s.sed away.

Mourning spread over the whole country. In foreign lands as well as at home the news was received with sincerest sorrow. The American people felt that they had indeed lost their protector, the Father of his Country.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOUNT VERNON, THE HOME OF WAs.h.i.+NGTON.]

To Americans his memory will always be precious. His birthday is celebrated every year throughout our broad land; and the bell of every steamer that glides along the quiet Potomac tolls as it slowly pa.s.ses Mount Vernon, the last resting-place of George Was.h.i.+ngton!

CHAPTER XVI.

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH.

=217. Utter Failure thus far to subdue the Colonists.=--Midway in the war of the Revolution there was a period of over two years when active fighting was for the most part suspended. After the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, the English seemed to lose heart. A feeble effort was even made by the British government to secure peace. England would yield everything except the claim of the colonies to independence. This was the very thing that now, after three years of fighting, the colonies would not yield.

Each side seemed to be tired of bloodshed. The patriots were in a bad enough way, and England had her troubles with other nations.

Of all the territory the British had occupied during three years, the only spot they now held was New York, and even there Was.h.i.+ngton's superb generals.h.i.+p with his small but active army was giving them constant trouble.

=218. The British now attempt to subdue the Southern Colonies.=--Thus it became necessary for the British to contrive some plan that would offer better results. They now proposed to go south, subdue one colony after another, and so push their conquests northward.

The British had already tried their hand at the south, and with results not quite to their liking. In June, 1776, General Clinton came with a fleet to capture Charleston. But Colonel William Moultrie had built on an island in the harbor a low redoubt of palmetto logs and sand bags, from which his guns made sad havoc with the fleet, while the British shot could not pierce through the tough, spongy logs of the fort. After a disastrous fight, Clinton went back disheartened. The gallant defense of this fort had a most wholesome effect upon the patriot cause.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SERGEANT JASPER'S BOLD DEED.]

One heroic deed of the battle is often told. The flag of the fort floated from a high mast, against which the enemy directed their fire until the top of the flagstaff was shot away and fell over the ramparts on the beach. A daring soldier by the name of William Jasper leaped over the wall of palmetto logs, walked the whole length of the fort in the face of the enemy's fire, tore away the flag, fastened it to the rammer of a cannon, and floated it on the ramparts.

=219. Disasters to the Patriot Cause.=--In December, 1778, a large British force, sent from New York, landed and captured Savannah with about five hundred prisoners. The enemy also captured Augusta, brought all Georgia under British control, and put the royal governor back into office.

In October, 1779, our General Lincoln and a French fleet made a combined attack on Savannah, hoping to recapture it, but they utterly failed.

These two disasters in two years were very discouraging to all Americans.

The year 1780 brought still worse fortune, for early in the year Clinton came again from New York and made a second attack on Charleston. In May he captured the city and all Lincoln's army, with four hundred cannon.

Clinton then returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis in command with five thousand men.

The British, possessing Savannah and Charleston with the river connections, held the key to the whole of Georgia and South Carolina.

They could obtain all their supplies by water, and so did not need to rely upon the country for support.