UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 37/ 



independence, absolute and unlimited, of the United States of North 

 America, as well in matters of government as of commerce." 



The parliament and people of Great Britain now began to be in 

 general alarmed at the fatal tendency of the American war: and in 

 June, 1778, the earl of Carlisle, William Eden, and George John- 

 stone, esqrs. arrived at Philadelphia, as commissioners from his 

 majesty, to settle the disputes between the mother country and the 

 colonies. They were invested with certain powers for this purpose 

 by act of parliament. But it was now too late : the terms, which, at 

 an earlier period of the contest, would have been accepted with gra- 

 titude, were now rejected with disdain. The congress refused to 

 enter into any treaty with the British commissioners, if the Indepen- 

 dency of the United States of America was not previously acknow- 

 ledged, or the British fleets and armies withdrawn from America, 

 Neither of these requisitions being complied with, the war continu- 

 ed to be carried on with mutual animosity. 



On the 4th of May, 1780, sir Henry Clinton made himself master 

 of Charleston, South Carolina; and on the 16th of August, earl 

 Cornwallis obtained a very signal victory over general Gates in that 

 province, in which about a thousand American prisoners were taken. 



Soon after, major-general Arnold deserted the service of the con- 

 gress, made his escape to New-York, and was made a brigadier- 

 general in the royal service. Major Andre, adjutant- general of the 

 British army, was employed in a clandestine negociation with him, 

 foi Defraying the important post of West Point into the hands of the 

 English. Andre was taken by the Americans and executed as a spy. 



On the 15th of March, 1781, earl Cornwallis obtained a victory 

 o\'-.c the Americans under general Green at Guildford, in North-Ca- 

 roiina ; but it was a hard fought battle, and the loss on both sides 

 considerable. Indeed the victory was productive of all the conse- 

 quences of a defeat ; for three days after, lord Cornwallis was obliged 

 to leave part of his sick and wounded behind him to the care of his 

 enemy, and to make a circuitous retreat of 200 miles to Wilmington 

 be^vethey could find shelter, and so left South Carolina entirely ex- 

 posed to the American general. The generals Philips and Arnold 

 commuted some ravages in Virginia, destroyed much shipping, and 

 about 8000 hogsheads of tobacco; but none of these events at that 

 time premised any speedy termination of the war; they rather con- 

 tributed to draw the attention of the Americans, and the French 

 at Rhode Island to that quarter, where the next year the decisive 

 blow was struck which firmly established American Independence. 

 Lord Cornwaliis's situation at Wilmington was very disagreeable, 

 and his force reduced so low that he could not think of marching to 

 C trlcsibn by land; he turned his thoughts then to a co-operation in 

 Virginia with Philips and Arnold, and began his march, April 25, 

 178 i. In this central province, all the scattered operations of active 

 hostility began at length to converge into a point, and the grand ca- 

 tastrophe of the American war opened to the world. By different re- 

 inforcements, lord Cornwaliis's force amounted to above 7000 excel- 

 lent troops ; but his situation became at length very critical. Sir 

 H;nry Clinton, the commander in chief, was prevented from sending 

 those sue r ours to him which he otherwise would have done, by his 

 fears for New- York, against which he apprehended Washington me- 

 ditated a formidable attack, The American general played a game 



