6« NATURAL AND CIVIL 



men, deserves a place, among the most extraor- 

 dinary and daring exploits, which the history of 

 war has recorded. 



During this campaign, the American char-, 

 acter had acquired a high degree of reputation 

 and fiime. It had been customary with the 

 British writers, ministers, generals and speakers 

 in parliament, to revile the Americans as cow- 

 ards, poltroons and low spirited wretches, who 

 had not courage enough to become soldiers, or 

 to attempt to defend their country. Had this 

 been only the language of policy, designed to 

 encourage and animate the British parliament 

 and nation to proceed to coercive measures, it 

 would not have occasioned wonder or surprise. 

 But it was the customary and sober language of 

 the British generals, ministers, and parliament ; 

 what they really believed, and thought was ac- 

 tually true. In them it was iii fact the language 

 of faith and ignorance, of desire, expectation 

 and confidence. When they heard of the move- 

 ments and enterprise of Montgomery and Ar- 

 nold, they were astonished arid confounded. 

 The American poltroons had shut up their arm}- , 

 and favorite generals, Gage, Howe, Clinton and 

 Burgoyne, in Boston ; reduced Ticonderoga, 

 Crown Point, St. Johns, and Montreal and over 

 run all Canada. An:iold had marched to Que- 

 bec by a route kno^vn only to the bears and 

 wolves. What was, or would be the fate of 

 Quebec, they did not know. The American 

 cowards were become patriots and heroes ; and 

 the British ministers wisely concluded it would 

 be best to buy some foreign troops to help them 

 to fight their battles. Several of the petty Ger- 



