Organization of State Governments.

to maintain that declaration.

1776.

The die being cast, Congress put forth all its energies to secure union and harmony among the confederated states, and these, in turn, perceived the necessity of prompt action in civil affairs. The resolves in Congress in May, recommending the several states to organize governments for themselves, based upon democratic principles, were heeded, and, soon after the publication of the Declaration of Independence, most of the states took action on the subject, and formed constitutions. New Hampshire had already formed a state government. The charters of Connecticut January 5, and Rhode Island, being considered sufficiently democratic, were not altered. New Jersey had adopted a constitution two days before the Declaration of Independence was

1776.

voted in Congress.a Virginia adopted one on the 5th of July; Pennsylvania, on *July 2, 1776

the 15th; Maryland, on the 14th of August; Delaware, on the 20th of September; North Carolina, on the 18th of December; Georgia, on the 5th of February, 1777; New York, on the 20th of April; South Carolina, on the 19th of March, 1778; and Mas sachusetts deferred the important work until the 1st of September, 1779. In the mean while, the necessity for Federal union became apparent, and this subject occupied the thoughts and active efforts of the statesmen of America. They finally elaborated a scheme of general government; and on the 15th of November, 1777, Congress adopted ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, having debated the subject three times a week for nearly seven months. Copies of these articles were sent to the various state Legislatures for approval, but they did not receive the sanction of all until March, 1781, when they became the organic law of the Union, and continued such until the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1787.

During the summer and autumn of 1776, military operations were active, and that session of Congress was one of the busiest during the war. The disastrous battle of Long Island or Brooklyn occurred in August; the skirmishes at Harlem, Kingsbridge, Throg's Neck, and White Plains; the fall of Forts Washington and Lee; the retreat of the American army under Washington across the Jerseys, and the menacing approach of a large British army toward Philadelphia, all occurred in rapid succession during the autumn. Disasters, gloom, and despondency were on every side; and Congress, alarmed at the proximity of British and Hessian troops, then only awaiting the freezing of the Delaware to march to the capture of Philadelphia, withdrew to Baltimore on the 12th of December, as we 1776. have already seen, where they resumed their deliberations on the 20th.

Let us close the record, and, like the fugitive Congress, leave the old State House for a

season.

1848.

Toward noon, accompanied by a friend (Mr. Samuel Agnew), I left the city November 27, to visit the remains of the old forts at Red Bank, on the Jersey shore of the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia. Unable to gain positive information respecting a ferry, we concluded to drive down to Fort Mifflin, and obtain a passage there. We crossed the Schuylkill, and, passing through the cultivated country on its right bank, missed the proper road to Fort Mifflin, and reached the termination of the one we were traveling, at a farm-house. Here we ascertained that we could not obtain ferriage at the fort, so we crossed the Schuylkill again, upon a bateau, near its mouth, and, returning to the city suburbs, found the proper avenue to League Island,' whence we could be ferried to Red Bank. Our blunder consumed two hours, and then we had to wait almost another hour upon the dike which defends League Island from the waters of the Delaware, before a skiff, for which we telegraphed by a white handkerchief upon a ratan, came over to us. The river is there about a mile wide; and while the waterman was slowly rowing across, we dined upon bread and cheese, cold sausage, and grape jelly, which the kind consideration of my friend's wife had furnished at our departure. It was a rather uncomfortable pic-nic on that unsheltered dike in the keen November wind.

Leaving my horse in a stall at the ferry, we crossed to the great coal depôt, upon Eagle

This is a low island just below the city suburbs, and, until protected by a heavy stone dike, was formerly almost covered with water at high tide. It is now a very fertile piece of reclaimed land, and is reached from the main by a bridge, the intervening channel being quite narrow.

Fort Mercer.

PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK

Donop's Grave.

Whitall's House.

De Chastellux's Visit there.

Point, on the Jersey shore, about half a mile above the site of Fort Mercer, at Red Bank. We met a resident gentleman on the way to the fort, who kindly turned back and pointed out the various localities. The embankments and trenches are quite prominent, and will doubtless long remain so, for a forest of young pines now covers and protects them from the

destroying hand of cultivation. The form of the fort and outworks, as denoted in the sketch, was easily distinguished, and the serried lines of the soldiers' graves were palpable along the brow of the high bank. These are the graves of those who were slain in the battle which occurred there in the autumn of 1777. They were buried in boxes, and now their remains are often exposed by the washing away of the banks. At the southern line of the fort, close by the bank, are the remains of the hickory-tree which was used as a flag-staff during the battle; and near it are traces of the gateway of the fort. below, and in the path leading to the house of Mr A little

Whitall, is the grave of Count Donop, marked by a small, rough sandstone, about fourteen inches in height. Vandal fingers have plucked relic-pieces from it, and so nearly was the rude inscription effaced that I could only decipher a portion of the words, DONOP WAS LOST, as seen in the sketch." Even his bones have not been allowed to molder in his grave, but are scattered about the country as cherished relics, his skull being in possession of a physician of New Jersey!

A few rods south of Donop's grave, close by the river

WHITALL'S HOUSE.

DONOP'S GRAVE.

bank, is the ancient residence of the Whitall family. It is a two-story house, built of brick, and is now (1851) one hundred and three of its erection is given on the north gable, where the years old. The date characters "IA W [James and Anna Whitall] 1748," are delineated by dark, glazed brick. Whitalls were Quakers, and of course, although The Whigs, took no part in the war. This fact made some suspect the old man of Toryism. I was informed by the present owner that, when the attack was made upon the fort, and his grandmother was urged to flee from the house, she refused, saying, God's arm is strong, and will protect me; I may

66

3

1 Red Bank, where these remains are, is in the township of Woodbury, in Gloucester county, New Jersey. The fortifications erected there were little more than earthen embankments, and a ditch covered by abatis. The arrow in the sketch denotes the direction of Fort Mifflin, on the opposite side of the Delaware.

2 The Marquis de Chastellux, who visited this spot in 1781, says, in his Journal (i., 260), "We had not gone a hundred yards before we came to a small elevation, on which a stone was vertically placed, with this short epitaph: Here lies buried Colonel Donop.' He acted in the double capacity of engineer and officer of artillery at the battle, and had the charge of M. de Mauduit was the guide on the occasion. arranging and defending the post, under Colonel Green. not make a step without treading on the remains of some Hessian, for near three hundred were buried in "He assured us," says the front of the ditch." the marquis, LL we could

3 De Chastellux, in recording his visit, says: "On landing from our boat, he [Mauduit] proposed conducting us to a Quaker's, whose house is half a musket-shot from the fort, or rather the ruins of the fort; for it is now destroyed, and there are scarcely any reliefs of it remaining. This man,' said M. de Manduit, 'is a little of a Tory: I was obliged to knock down his barn, and fell his fruit trees; but he will be glad to see M. de La Fayette, and will receive us well.' We took him at his word; but never was ex

Anecdote of Mrs. Whitall.

Old Cannon.

Distant View of Fort Mifflin

do good by staying." She was left alone in the house; and while the battle was raging, and cannon-balls were driving like sleet against and around her dwelling, she calmly plied her spinning-wheel in a room in the second story. At length a twelve-pound ball, from a British vessel in the river, grazing the American flag-staff (the walnut-tree) at the fort. passed through the heavy brick wall on the north gable, and with a terrible crash perforated a partition at the head of the stairs, crossed a recess, and lodged in another partition, near where the old lady was sitting. Conceiving Divine protection a little more certain elsewhere after this manifestation of the power of gun-powder, the industrious dame gathered up her implements, and with a step quite as agile as in youth, she retreated to the cellar, where she continued spinning until called to attend the wounded and dying who were brought into her house at the close of the battle. She did, indeed, "do good" by remaining; for, like an angel of mercy, she went among the maimed, unmindful whether they were friend or foe, and administered every relief to their sufferings, in her power. She scolded the Hessians for coming to America to butcher the people. At the same time, she bound up their wounds tenderly, and gave them food and water. The scar made by the passage of that iron ball is quite prominent in the gable; it is denoted in the engraving by the dark spot. I saw within the house where the missile cut off the wood-work in its passage, and where it lodged.

On the green, between the Whitall house and the river, lies a portion of an iron cannon

b

a September 11

ing the view, are the hills of Pennsylvania, toward Valley Forge. In the summer of 1777, Sir William Howe, the British commander-in-chief, sailed from New Yorka with a large land force, and with a naval armament under his broth- a July 23. er Richard, Earl Howe, and, landing at the head of Chesapeake Bay,b commenced 6 August 25. a victorious march toward Philadelphia. Washington, informed of the movement, went out from Philadelphia to meet him, and had proceeded beyond the Brandywine, in the neighborhood of Wilmington, when the van of the enemy appeared at Kennet Square. The battle of Brandywine occurred soon afterward, a in which the Americans were defeated, and driven back toward Philadelphia. The enemy pushed steadily forward, and entered the city in triumph.b In anticipation of the possibility b September 26. of such an event, the Americans had applied themselves diligently to the erection of obstructions in the Delaware, to prevent the ascent of the British fleet, and also in rearing batteries upon the shores to cover them. Upon isolated marshes, or low islands of mud, pectation more completely deceived. We found our Quaker seated in the chimney corner, busied in cleaning herbs. He recollected M. de Mauduit, who named M. de La Fayette to him; but he did not deign to lift his eyes, nor to answer any of our introducer's discourse, which at first was complimentary, and at length jocose. Except Dido's silence, I know nothing more severe; but we had no difficulty in accommodating ourselves to this bad reception, and made our way to the fort.--Travels, i., 259.

Military Works on the Delaware.

Obstructions in the River. Their Removal by the British. Capture of Billingsport

made green by reeds, a little below the mouth of the Schuylkill, they erected a strong redoubt, with quite extensive outworks, and called it Fort Mifflin. These islands were called Great and Little Mud Islands. The former, on which the redoubt and main works were erected, has been called Fort Island ever since that time. On the opposite shore of New Jersey, a strong redoubt, called Fort Mercer, was also erected, and well supplied with artillery. In the deep channels of the river between, and under cover of these batteries, they sunk ranges of strong frames, with iron-pointed wooden spikes, called chevaux de frise, which formed almost invulnerable stackadoes. Three miles further down the river, at Byllinge's Point' (now Billingsport), was a redoubt with extensive outworks, covering strong stackadoes, which were sunken there in the navigable channel of the river, between the main and Billing's Island. In addition to these works, several armed galleys and floating batteries were stationed in the river, all forming strong barriers against the fleet of the enemy. This circumstance troubled the British general, for he foresaw the consequences of having his supplies by water cut off, and the danger to which his army would be exposed in Philadelphia if unsupported by the fleet.

CHEVAUX DE FRISE.2

Immediately after the battle at Brandywine, Earl Howe sailed down the Chesapeake, and entered the lower Delaware with several light vessels, among which was the Roebuck, commanded by Captain Hammond.3 That officer represented to General Howe, that if a sufficient force could be sent to reduce the fortifications at Billingsport, he would take upon himself the task of opening a passage for vessels through the chevaux de frise, or stackadoes, at that, point. Howe readily consented to attempt the important measure. Two regiments, under Colonel Stirling, were dispatched from Chester, in Pennsylvania, for that purpose. They crossed the river a little below Billingsport, marched in the rear of the unfinished works, and made a furious assault upon the garrison. The Americans were dismayed at this unexpected attack, and believing themselves incompetent to make a successful defense, they spiked their cannons, set fire to the barracks, and fled. The English remained long enough to demolish the works on the river front; when Hammond, by the great exertions of his men, made a passage-way seven feet wide in the chevaux de frise, and, with six vessels, sailed through, and anchored near Hog Island. Stirling returned to Chester, and, with another detachment, proceeded to camp, as an escort of provisions, bearing to General Howe intelligence of his success.

Howe now determined to make a general sweep of all the American works on the Delaware, and, preparatory thereto, he called in his outposts and concentrated his whole army near to and within Philadelphia. Two Rhode Island regiments, belonging to General Varnum's brigade, under Colonel Christopher Greene, garrisoned the fort at Red Bank, and

1 So called in honor of Edward Byllinge, the purchaser of Lord Berkley's moiety of the province of New Jersey. Slight remains of this redoubt, it is said, yet remain.

2 This cut, copied from an old print, shows the form of the chevaux de frise. A is a profile view, and B a plan. The spikes were made of heavy timbers, about thirty feet in length. Partially filled with heavy stone, they presented a formidable obstacle to vessels. It is said that these obstructions were mainly planned by Dr. Franklin, and constructed under the immediate supervision of M. Du Plessis Manduit, a French engineer. 3 Sir Andrew Snape Hammond, Royal Navy.

✦ James Mitchell Varnum was born at Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1749, and graduated in the first class at Providence College in 1769. He afterward studied law at East Greenwich, became an active politician in Rhode Island, espoused the patriot cause, and joined the army in 1775. In February,

1777, he was commissioned a brigadier in the Continental service. He served under Sullivan in the op erations on Rhode Island, in 1778, and the next year resigned his commission and left the army. He was a delegate to Congress in 1786, and the following year was appointed a judge of the Northwestern Terri

The American Fleet in the Delaware.

Hessian Expedition against Fort Mercer.

Storming of the Fort.

about the same number of the Maryland line, under Lieutenant-colonel Samuel Smith, occupied Fort Mifflin, on Mud Island. The American fleet in the river, consisting chiefly

of galleys and floating batteries, was commanded by Commodore Hazlewood.' It was quite as important to the Americans to maintain these forts and defend the river obstructions as it was to the British to destroy them. It was therefore determined to hold them to the last extremity, for it was evident that such continued possession would force Howe to evacuate Philadelphia.

Count Donop, with four battalions, consisting of twelve hundred picked Hessians, was sent by Howe to attack Fort Mercer, at Red Bank. They crossed the Delaware, and

landed at Cooper's Ferry, on the 21st of October. The same evening they marched 1777. to Haddonsfield, in New Jersey, a little above Gloucester. As they approached Timber Creek, on their way down the river, the Americans took up the bridge, and the enemy were obliged to march four miles up the stream to a shallow ford. They arrived at the edge of a wood, within cannon-shot of Fort Mercer, on the morning of the 22d. Their appearance, full-armed for battle, was the first intimation the garrison had of their approach. Although informed that the number of Hessians was twenty-five hundred, the little garrison of four hundred men, in a feeble earth fort, and with only fourteen pieces of cannon, were not intimidated. They made immediate preparations for defense. While thus engaged, a Hessian officer, who was permitted to approach the fort with a flag and a drummer, rode up, and insolently proclaimed, "The King of England orders his rebellious subjects to lay down their arms; and they are warned that, if they stand the battle, no quarters whatever will be given !"'* "We ask no quarters, nor will we give any!" was the prompt reply of Colonel Greene. The Hessian and the drummer rode hastily back to Donop, and the assailants began at once the erection of a battery within half cannon-shot of the outworks of Fort Mercer. All was activity and eagerness for combat within the The outworks were unfinished, but the redoubt was a citadel upon which the garrison placed much reliance. Skill and bravery were called to combat fierceness, discipline. and overwhelming numbers.

fort.

פיין

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when a brisk cannonade was opened from the Hes sian battery, and at a quarter before five a battalion advanced to the attack, on the north part of the fort, near a morass that covered it. Finding the first advance post and the outworks abandoned, but not destroyed, the enemy imagined that they had frightened the Americans away. Filled with this idea, they raised the shout of victory, and, with the drummer just mentioned beating a lively march, rushed toward the redoubt, where not a man was to be seen. They were about to ascend the ramparts, to plant the flag of conquest upon a merlon, when, from the embrasures in front, and from a half-masked battery upon their left flank, formed by an angle of an old embankment, a shower of grape-shot and musket-balls poured upon them with terrible effect, driving them back to the remote intrenchments. Another division of the enemy, under the immediate command of the brave Donop, attacked the fort on the south side at the same time, passed the abatis, traversed the fosse or ditch, and some actually leaped the pickets, and mounted the parapet of the redoubt; but the fire of the Americans was so heavy and continuous that they were soon tory. He died at Marietta, Ohio, January 10, 1790, aged forty-one. His brother, Joseph Bradley Varnum, was also an officer in the Revolution; a member, from Massachusetts, of the first Congress after the adoption of the Federal Constitution; was four years speaker of the Lower House, and succeeded Timothy Pickering as United States senator in 1811. He died on the 11th of September, 1821, aged seventy-one years.

The following is a list and description of the American fleet: Thirteen galleys, one bearing a thirtytwo pounder; two carrying each a twenty-four pounder; ten each an eighteen pounder. Twenty-six halfgalleys, each carrying a four pounder. Two xebeques, each carrying in bow two twenty-four pounders; in stern, two eighteen pounders; in waist, four nine pounders. Two floating batteries (the Arnold and Putnam), one carrying twelve eighteen pounders, one ten eighteen pounders. One provincial ship, ten eighteen pounders. Fourteen fire-ships. The brig Andre Doria, of fourteen six pounders. One schooner-galley. in bow two eighteen pounders; in stern, two nine pounders. One brig-galley, in bow two eighteen pounders: in stern, two nine pounders. There were also a number of fire-rafts. De Chastellux i., 262.