Britain. 



Parliament 

 meets, 

 31 st Oct. 

 1780. 



650 BRITAIN. 



loss scarcely paralleled in ur aaval and commercial 

 history. 



A new parliament met on the 31st of October 

 1780. In the first session, it appeared that minis- 

 ters had secured in this new parliament the superior- 

 ity of numbers, which they had lost and recovered in 

 the former. The famous reform bill of Mr Burke 

 was revived, but rejected in tola, and all the calls of 

 the nation for economical reform were set at defiance 

 by ministers. Towards the end of the session, Mi- 

 Fox made a motion for devising means of accommo- 

 dation with America. His motion was supported, 

 in an animated speech, by Mr Pitt, who expressed 

 his litter abhorrence of a war, " which was concei- 

 ved," he said, '" in injustice, nurtured in folly, and 

 wh ise footsteps were marked with slaughter and de- 

 vastation. It exhibited the height of moral depra- 

 vity and human turpitude. The nation was drained 

 of its best blood and its vital resources, for which 

 nothing was reccired in return, but a series of ineffi- 

 cient victories, or of disgraceful retreats : Victories 

 obtained over men fighting in the holy cause of li- 

 berty, or defeats which filled the land with mourn- 

 ings, for the loss of dear and valuable relations, slain 

 in a detested and impious quarrel." 



The first important military affair of the year, was 

 an attempt of the French to recover the island of 

 Jersey. On the 16th of January, early in the morn- 

 ing, a landing was effected by the Baron de Rulle- 

 court, at the head of 800 men ; and, to the astonish- 

 ment of the inhabitants, when the day began to 

 dawn, the market place of St Helier was found oc- 

 cupied by French troops. The governor's house 

 being surrounded, he was compelled, by threats, to 

 sign a capitulation; but when Elizabeth Castle was 

 summoned, Captain Aylward, refusing to abide by 

 the orders of a governor already a prisoner in the 

 enemy's hands, fired upon the French, and, by the 

 efforts of the gallant Major Pierson, who unhappily 

 fell in the action, the militia and troops at last obli- 

 ged the enemy to surrender. 



Capture of I" February, Admiral Rodney and General Vaughan 

 West-India made an easy prize of the island of St Eustatia, 



Attack up- 

 on Jersey 

 by the 

 French. 

 1781. 



blanch. an immensely valuable depot of wealth and traffic. 

 The Dutch settlements ot Demerara, Berbice, and 

 Essequibo, on the southern main, also submitted, 

 without resistance, to our arms. Tobago, however, 

 was taken by the French, and St Eustatia was soon 

 after recovered. Spain was also successful in com- 

 pletely conquering West Florida. In the course of 

 the summer (August 5) an engagement took place 

 off the Dogger Bank, between an English squadron, 

 Nval en- commanded by Admiral Hyde Parker, and a Dutch 

 gagement. squadron of equal force, under Admiral Zoutman, 

 who had under convoy the Baltic trade bound to the 

 Texel. The fleets approached within musket shot 

 of each other before they opened their fire, and, af- 

 ter a cannonade of three hours and a half, they both 

 lay like logs in the water, incapable of mutual an- 

 noyance. The Dutch after some time bore away 

 with their convoy for the Texel, which they reached 

 with great difficulty, the Hollandia, one of their 

 largest ships, having sunk the night after the action. 

 The American campaign of 1781 opened with a 



circumstance apparently favourable to the British 

 arms. The revolt of the Pei.n.sylvaman line of the 

 American army offered a glimpse of hope to Gene- 

 ral Clinton, that he might seduce them to ,uni the 

 royal standard ; but their grievances, were rcuressed 

 by congress, and they returned to their duty. In 

 preparing to enter North Carolina, Lord Cor.-uvallis 

 sent forward Colonel Tarleton to the d>stnct ot nine- ca | ' 

 ty-six ; but that active officer was, defeated by the 

 provincials under Morgan, and obliged to retire. In 

 spite of this defeat, Lord Cornwallis pushed forward 

 into North Carolina, and, attacking the mam army 

 of the enemy under General Greene at Guiidford, 

 obtained a victory dearly purchased, with tile loss of 

 600 men. This nominal victory, carrying to the 

 British nearly the same disasters as a defeat, oulyed 

 Cornwallis to change his course to Wilmington, at 

 tlv.- mouth of Cape- Fear River, and enabled General 

 Greene to push forward to the south. From Wil- 

 mi.igton, Cornwailis led his army to Petersburgh in 

 Virginia. The divisions which he left behind him 

 were attacked at the Eutaw Springs and at Camden, 

 by the Americans under Greene, and were handled 

 so severely, that they were obliged to retreat, though, 

 on each successive day ot battle, they had the ho- 

 nour of keeping the field. In less than twelve 

 months, Greene had recovered both the Carolinas. 



In the mean time, General Clinton, who was threat- 

 ened by Washington in New York, tamely saw that 

 commander retire to the south across the Delaware ; 

 and believing that lie only meant a feint, to divert 

 his attention from the siege of New York, suffered 

 him to be joined by the French troops, which the 

 fleet of Count de Grasse had brought into the Ches- 

 apeak. * The object of Washington was to join the 

 other forces, which, in different bodies, were now ^^ 

 moving to surround Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. ana iiT 

 On the 29th of September, that place was invested my sur 

 by the combined armies ; and in three weeks more, relul>;r 

 the British batteries being completely silenced, Lord llie A 

 Cornwallis surrendered, with his whole army, pri- 

 soners to the allied armies of France and America. 

 This terminated our offensive hostilities in America. 



The events of the campaign in America having p roce e< 

 been known before the next meeting of parliament in iug> in 

 November, the ministerial address to the throne was 

 combated by arguments, which carried into every 

 part of the British dominions a full conviction, if not 

 of the folly and injustice, at least of the disastrous 

 conduct of the war. Towards the end of the year, New mi 

 the ministerial majorities fell rapidly; and early in 'ry i 

 1782, upon a motion made by General Conway, for e ^' 

 putting an end to hostilities, the opposition were 

 triumphant by a superiority of 19 votes. This vic- 

 tory was followed up by an address of the whole 

 house to his majesty, for terminating hostilities ; and 

 on the 20th of March, Lord North announced to the 

 House of Commons, that his own administration was 

 at an end. A new ministry was formed on as broad 

 a basis as the nature of things would admit, including 

 the partizans of the two parties, who divided the 

 Whig interest, namely, the Rockingham party, who 

 derived its name from that nobleman, and its vigour 

 and popularity from the talents of Mr Fox, and that 



I.ord ! 



The English Beet under Admiral Graves had Attempted to obtain possession of the Chesapeak, but after a warm engage. 

 ' mcnt were obliged to leave the French in possession of it, 



