CHARLEVOIX CHARLOTTESVILLE. 



163 



of their presence till daybreak, when the ships of j 

 war and floating batteries, which lay in the harbour j 

 of Charlestowu, together with a battery on Copp's 

 hill, opened a heavy tire on the redoubt which liad 

 been completed during the night. The Americans , 

 meanwhile, continued their labour, until they had 

 thrown up a small breastwork, extending north, from 

 the east side of the redoubt, to the bottom of the 

 lull. About one o'clock, the British, under general 

 Howe, landed at Morton's point, in Charlestown, 

 without opposition. Here they waited for reinforce- 

 ments, wiiich arrived soon after. The whole num- 

 ber amounted to about 5000 men, with six tield-pieces 

 and howitzers. The original detachment of provin- 

 cials amounted to 1000 men, with two field-pieces. 

 They had been reinforced by about the same number, 

 among whom were the New Hampshire troops, un- 

 der colonel Stark. General Pomeroy, and general 

 Warren, president of the provincial congress, joined 

 the ranks as volunteers. The troops on the open 

 ground formed a cover from the musketry of the 

 enemy, by pulling up the rail fences, placing them 

 at small distances apart in parallel lines, and filling 

 up the intervening space with new-mown grass. The 

 British columns now moved forward, under general 

 Howe, to the attack of the rail fence, and, under 

 general Pigot, to attack the breastwork and redoubt. 

 The Americans impatiently withheld their fire until, 

 according to the words of Putnam, " they saw the 

 white of their enemies' eyes." The British were re- 

 pulsed with great loss. Had they charged, they would 

 probably have been more successful, as the Ameri- 

 can troops were almost entirely destitute of bayonets. 

 A second attack, during which the village of Charles- 

 town was burned to the ground, was attended with 

 the same result. But the Americans had nearly ex- 

 pended their ammunition, and their communication 

 with the main army was interrupted by the fire of 

 the floating batteries, which enfiladed Charlestown 

 neck. The English now rallied for a third attack, 

 determined to concentrate their forces on the redoubt 

 and breastwork, and to charge ; at the same time, 

 their artillery turned the left of the breastwork, en- 

 filaded the line, and sent their balls directly into the 

 redoubt. The Americans, after resisting with stones 

 and the butts of their guns, retreated under a heavy 

 fire. They were, however, not pursued very warm- 

 ly, and drew off with an inconsiderable loss. They 

 had 115 killed, among whom was general Warren, 

 305 wounded, and 30 made prisoners. The British 

 loss was 1054 killed and wounded. June 17, 1825, 

 the fiftieth anniversary of this battle was commem- 

 orated by a public celebration, and the corner-stone 

 of the Bunker hill monument was laid. 



CHARLEVOIX, PETER FRANCIS XAVIER DE, a 

 French Jesuit, was born at St Quentin, in 1682, and 

 taught languages and philosophy with some reputa- 

 tion. He was, for some years, a missionary in 

 America, and, on his return, had a chief share hi the 

 Journal de Trevoux for twenty-two years. He died 

 in 1761, greatly esteemed for his high moral cha- 

 racter and extensive learning. Of his works, the 

 Histoire Generate de la Nouvelle France is the most 

 valuable. This describes his own experience, and 

 the manners and customs of the native Americans, 

 lor which he is often quoted, as a writer of good au- 

 thority. His style is simple and unaffected, but not 

 perfectly correct. 



CHARLOTTE AUGUSTA,daughter of queen Ca- 

 roline and George IV., and the wife of prince Leopold 

 of Coburg, was born at Carlton house, Jan. 7, 1796, 

 and passed the first years of her life under the eyes 

 of her mother, who watched over her with the fond- 

 est affection. She was afterwards placed under the 

 tare of lady Clifford, and the bishop of Exeter su- 



perintended her studies. These were calculated to 

 prepare her to become, one day, the queen of a great 

 nation, and she was obliged to attend to them from 

 morning to evening. She is said to have been well 

 acquainted with the principal ancient writers, and 

 with the history and statistics of the European states, 

 especially with the constitution and laws of her na- 

 tive country. She spoke, with ease, French, Ger- 

 man, Italian, and Spanish, sung well, played on the 

 harp, piano, and guitar, and sketched landscapes 

 from nature with much taste. Her style of writing 

 was pleasing, and she was fond of poetry. In the 

 unfortunate dissensions between her father and mo- 

 ther, she inclined to the side of the latter. The 

 prince of Orange was fixed upon as her future hus- 

 band, and the nation desired their union, because the 

 prince had been educated in England, and was ac- 

 quainted with the customs and interests of the peo- 

 ple. After having completed his studies at the uni- 

 versity of Oxford, he had served in the British army 

 hi Spain, and distinguished himself. The union, 

 however, was prevented by the disinclination of the 

 princess. In the mean tune, she was introduced at 

 court, hi 1815, on her nineteenth birthday. The 

 princess, who, in any situation, would have been an 

 ornament to her sex, displayed an ardent but gener- 

 ous disposition, and independence and loftiness of 

 sentiment. She often said that queen Elizabeth must 

 be the model of an English queen ; and some per- 

 sons even thought there was a resemblance between 

 them. In 1814, prince Leopold of Coburg visited 

 England, hi the suite of the allied sovereigns, who 

 went to London after the peace of Paris. His culti- 

 vated mind and amiable manners having made an 

 impression on the heart of the princess, he was per- 

 mitted to sue for her hand. Their marriage, the result 

 of personal inclination, was solemnized May, 2, 1816. 

 The prince (whom Napoleon declared, at St Helena, 

 one of the finest men he had ever seen) loved her 

 with tenderness. They were always together, rode 

 out in company, visited the cottages of the country 

 people, and exhibited a pleasing picture of conjugal 

 love. They seldom left Claremont, and only wen. 

 to London when their presence at court was neces- 

 sary. Their domestic life resembled that of a pri- 

 vate family : after dinner, they painted together, and 

 the evenings were devoted to music or reading. 

 Meanwhile, the nation anxiously expected the mo- 

 ment when the princess, who was liighly beloved, 

 should become a mother. The expectations which 

 had been entertained, however, were disappointed by 

 a premature delivery. England soon conceived new 

 hopes ; but, Nov. 5, 1817, after three days of suffer- 

 ing, the princess was delivered of a dead child. A 

 few hours after her delivery, she was seized with 

 convulsions, and breathed her last. The physician 

 who had attended her shot himself. 



CHARLOTTENBURG ; a residence of the king 

 of Prussia, built by Sophia Charlotte, the first queen 

 of Prussia, on the banks of the Spree, about three 

 miles from Berlin, with a beautiful garden. The 

 town, which has lately grown up, contains 430 

 houses, of which a large number are public houses, 

 and 4700 inhabitants. A beautiful walk leads 

 through the park of Berlin to Charlottenburg, which 

 is a favourite resort of the citizens of Berlin. In the 

 garden adjoining the castle is the tomb of the late 

 queen Louisa, by the statuary Rauch. 



CHARLOTTESVILLE ; a post-town, and capi- 

 tal of Albemarle county, Virginia; lat. 38 2' N.; 

 Ion. 78 52' W. It is very pleasantly situated, one 

 mile from the Rivamia, and is laid out in squares of 

 three or four acres. The university of Virginia was 

 established here, by the legislature, in 1817. The 

 buildings comprise ten pavilions, for the acci.'nimo- 

 L 2 



