In these circumftances no alternative remainea but to abandon the town, or diflodge the enemy, and deftroy the new works. General Howe adopted the latter, and took the neceffary meafures for the embarkation on that very evening, for five regiments, with the light infantry and grenadiers, upon a fervice which the whole army muft of course have ultimately been engaged in. Providence at this time fruftrated the defigns of the General, and probably for his own good, for had he proceeded to attack the work, it is not improbable that his whole army would have been ruined. The provincials were eager for a battle, and they were provided for an attack, and would have made fuch a refiftance as would have been fatal to our army.

This defign was frustrated by a violent ftorm, which raged that night, and rendered an embarkation impoffible, and fo faved the lives of many brave men, which must have fallen in fuch a rafh encounter.-Whatever intrepidity there might be in General Howe's intention on this occafion, it does not appear that his purpose was dictated by wisdom; for before he had ftormed the works of the enemy, his army must have been greatly thinned, and the colonists were likely after that to have food their ground, and to have difputed every inch with his Excellency for the palm of victory. Bunker's Hill might have taught the General what the provincials could do, even when they were but indifferently armed, and ill provided with ammunition; and now, that they were greatly reinforced and fupplied with ftores, arms, and ammunition of all forts, they were not likely to give way fo eafily, but to use their utmost power to be revenged upon men whom they confidered as in

vaders of their country, and murderers of their friends. The General's fcheme was the very scheme the colonists wanted him to purfue, and had he pursued his defign, his whole army must have been cut off.

It is not however to be wondered at, that with an high fenfe of the British military honour, as well as of his own, the General should hazard much, rather than submit to the indignity of abandoning the town. He commanded a force which he knew had been confidered and represented here as fufficient to look down all the opposition in America; and which in reality, with refpect to the number of regiments, if not of men, the excellency of the troops, the character of the officers, and the powerful artillery which they poffeffed, would have been refpectable in any country, and dangerous to any enemy. With fuch troops to give up that town which had been the original caufe of the war, and the conftant object of contention fince it commenced, to a raw and undisciplined militia, feemed, exclufive of all other ill confequences, a difgrace not to be borne. But thefe brave men had by a variety of events, and perhaps it will be thought, and not without good reason, through original error and, mifconduct in the arrangement of the war, been reduced to fuch circumstances, and hedged in in fuch a manner, that no means were left for the exertion of their force and courage; that they were now fubject to: the greatest danger, without affording any profpect of fuccefs. The wild roda montade of Britiflr valour, which had been refounded through all corners of the empire, were now proved to be only empty founds, without any meaning; for tho' British troops will fight as well as any others, when under a proper influence, yet there is nothing in either the men or

the

the country that gives claim to an exclufive monopoly of bravery. They were now fighting with their own countrymen, animated with the ftrong infpiring fpirit of liberty, with all that is dear to mankind at the point of their fwords, and not with men who were fighting for the honour of a grand monarch, whofe intereft and theirs are, very different. Though the idea of military glory may infpire fome officers that have fuffered their minds to roam in the field of romance, and have, through an habit of thinking, wrought up their minds to think it a glory to die in battle, yet the common foldiers are not acquainted with fuch refinement, but both feel and fear natural evils, especially when their confciences hint to them fome doubt concerning the juftice of the caufe of a

war.

Fortune, or in better phrafe, Providence prevented the perilous trial which the General proposed. On the day that fucceeded the tempeft the defign was refumed; but on a clofer infpection new difficulties arofe: it was difcovered that a new work had been thrown up, which was much stronger than any of the former, and that the whole were now fo compleatly fortified, that all hope of forcing them was at an end. It now also became evident that Boston was not a place very happily chofen for the improvement of any advantage which might be obtained towards the reduction of the colonies. This was forefeen by many from the beginning, but the ministry, who were fo fure of conquering the colonists with a few grenadiers and red coats, thought all places equally eafily fubdued. It was an infatuation which from the beginning of this ruinous war had poffeffed all its friends, that they have always boafted of their own ftrength and defpifed

defpifed their enemies; from the meaneft court toadeater to the minifter himself, nothing was ever to be heard but the founds of the victories, valour, and intrepidity of the British troops; when after all, every year has been attended with repeated loffes, difappointment, and difgrace. People that think gravely, and believe in providence, have all along inferred, that there has been fomething of a divine hand in our prefent difafters, and that the national infidelity and wickedness has had a great share in our misfortunes, while others reciprocate the blame upon each other, and endeavour to clear themselves of having an hand in the mifmanagement, but have done every thing for the best. In ages paft, which we, now turned a polite people, call barbarous, it was always the fafhion in going to war to confider providence as the beft ally, and for that reafon our fathers feldom neglected to ufe the proper means to procure the affiftance thereof, but this is now accounted a weakness and imbe, cility of mind, unworthy ef an enlightened age.

Upon viewing the fituation of the rebels, and the refolution which they fhewed to make a vigorous, refiftance, if not a bold attack upon our men, nothing remained but to abandon the town, and to convey the troops, artillery, and stores aboard the fhips. This laft refort was not 'free of difficulty. This part of the history of the war is very differently reprefented. Government writers affirm that the enemy remained quiet during the time of the embarkation, and made not the finalleft attempt to give the troops any disturbance, while others, and fome who were prefent wit neffes and had a hare of the difafter, have affirmed that our troops fuffered prodigiously by an heavy fire from the provincials, owing, as they affirm, to a breach of agreement

1

town.

agreement on the part of General Howe, who had engaged with Washington to remove peaceably, and not deftroy any of the ftores which he did not carry away, nor touch the works and fortifications of the This agreement was broken by the English General, it is faid, upon which the enemy opened their batteries upon our men, and destroyed many of them in the embarkation. This can hardly be belier. ed of General Howe, who is a man of honour and veracity, and must certainly have proceeded from fome other caufe. The miniftry have declared that there was not any convention or agreement between the two Generals, though it has been generally underftood that the faving of the town depended upon fome fort of convention between them. It is not very probable that the English troops would have left Boston without demolishing it, had there not been fome promife made on both fides for this purpose. Had the troops fet fire to the town before the embarkation, the provincials would have attacked them with all their force, and probably have ruined the whole army, but as they did not ftir at the firft till the embarkation was almoft finished, it gives reafon to conclude that there was fome agreement which fome of the foldiers might break through, when they thought they were nearly fafe from the attack of their enemy.

This might happen without the General's knowledge. That there was a defign of burning the town, is confirmed from combustibles being laid ,and ready for firing in different parts of the town, and that the felect men were permitted to go out and hold a conference with General Washington upon the fubject. This fecms not to have been contradicted on either hand. Notwithstanding