gress; its ablest advocate and defender against the multifarious assaults which were made against it."

Sec. 41. On the arrival of the day assigned, the subject was resumed, and on the 4th of July, 1776, upon the report of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Philip Livingston, the thirteen confederate colonies dissolved their allegiance to the British crown, and declared themselves Free and Independent, under the name of the Thirteen United States of America.

After specifically enumerating the wrongs received, and declaring these to be sufficient grounds for a separation, they solemnly and deliberately proceeded to the act of separation, in the words following:

"We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, and by authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things, which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

This declaration was directed to be engrossed, and on the 2d of August, 1776, was signed by all the members then present, and by some who were not members on the 4th of July. The following are the members who signed this memorable instrument:*

* A signature to the declaration of independence, without reference to general views, was, to each individual, a personal consideration of the most momentous import. It would be regarded in England as treason, and expose any man to the halter or the block. The signers well knew the responsibility of their station; they well knew the fate, which awaited themselves, should their experiment fail. They came, therefore, to the question of a declaration of independence, like men who had counted the cost; prepared to rejoice, without any unholy triumph, should God wn's

John Hancock, President, from Massachusetts.

upon the transaction; prepared also, if defeat should follow, to lead in the way to martyrdom. The only signature, on the original document, which exhibits indications of a trembling hand, is that of Stephen Hopkins, who had been afflicted with the palsy. In this work of treason, John Hancock led the way, as president of the congress, and by the force with which he wrote, he seems to have determined that his name should never be erased. The pen, with which these signatures were made, has been preserved, and is now in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

* The longevity of these signers of the declaration of independence is worthy of notice. They were fifty-six in number; and the average length of their lives was about sixty-five years. Four of the number attained to

This declaration was received by the people with transports of joy. Public rejoicings took place in various parts of the union. In New-York, the statue of George III. was taken down, and the lead, of which it was composed was converted into musket balls. In Boston, the garrison was drawn up in King's street, which from that moment, took the name of State street, and thirteen salutes, by thirteen detachments, into which the troops were formed, were fired; the bells of the town were rung, in token of felicitation, and the evening concluded with the tearing in pieces, and burning, the ensigns of royalty-lions, sceptres, and

crowns.

In Virginia, the exultation exceeded description. On

the age of ninety years and upwards; fourteen exceeded eighty years; and twenty-three, as one in two and a half, reached threescore years and ten. The longevity of the New-England delegation was still more remarkable. Their number was fourteen, the average of whose lives was seventy-five years. Who will affirm that the unusual age to which the signers, as a body, attained, was not a reward bestowed upon them, for their fidelity to their country, and the trust which they in general reposed in the overruling, providence of God. Who can doubt the kindness of that Providence to the American people, in thus prolonging the lives of these men, till the principles for which they had contended, through a long series of years, had been acknowledged, and a government been founded upon them?

Of this venerable body, but a single one survives, (Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 1832.) The others now are no more. "They are no more, as in 1776, bold and fearless advocates of independence. They are dead. But how little is there of the great and good which can die. To their country they yet live, and live forever. They live in all that perpetuates the remembrance of men on earth; in the recorded proofs of their own great actions, in the offspring of their own great interest, in the deep engraved lines of public gratitude, and in the respect and homage of mankind. They live in their example; and they live emphatically, and will live, in the influence which their lives and efforts, their principles and opinions, now exercise and will continue to exercise on the affairs of men, not only in our own country, but throughout the civilized world."

"It remains to us to cherish their memory, and emulate their virtues, by perpetuating and extending the blessings whica they have bequeathed. So long as we preserve our country, this fame cannot die, for it is renected from the surface of every thing that is beautiful and valuable in our land. We cannot recur too often, nor dwell too long, upon the lives and characters of such men; for our own will take something of their form and impression from those on which they rest. If we inhale the moral atmosphere in which they moved, we must feel its purifying and invigorating influence. If we raise our thoughts to their elevation, our minds will be expanded and ennobled, in beholding the immeasurable distance beneath and around us. Can we breathe the pure mountain air, and not be refreshed? can we walk abroad amidst the beautiful and the grand works of creation, and feel no kindling of devotion?"

(Preface to Author's Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence.)

learning the measures of congress, the Virginia convention immediately decreed, that the name of the king should be suppressed in all public prayers. They ordained that the great seal of the commonwealth should represent Virtue as the tutelary genius of the province, robed in drapery of an Amazon, resting one hand upon her lance, and holding with the other a sword, trampling upon tyranny, under the figure of a prostrate man, having near him a crown, fallen from his head, and bearing in one hand a broken chain, and in the other a scourge. At the foot was charactered the word Virginia, and round the effigy of Virtue was inscribed-Sic semper tyrannis. The reverse represented a group of figures; in the middle stood Liberty, with her wand and cap; on one side was Ceres, with a horn of plenty in the right hand, and a sheaf of wheat in the left; upon the other appeared Eternity, with the globe and the phoenix. At the foot were found these words-Deus nobis hæc otia fecit.

Sec. 42. Soon after the evacution of Boston by the British troops, Washington, believing that the possession of New-York would be with them a favourite object, determined to make it the head quarters of his army, and thereby prevent their occupation of it, if such a step had been contemplated. Accordingly, he soon removed to that city with the principal part of his troops.

Sec. 43. On the 10th of June, Gen. William Howe, with the army which had evacuated Boston, arrived from Halifax, off Sandy Hook. Here he was soon after joined by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, from England, with a reinforcement. Their combined forces amounted to twenty-four thousand. On the 2d of August, they landed near the Narrows, nine miles from the city.

Sec. 44. Previous to the commencement of hostilities, Admiral and Gen. Howe communicated to Washington, that they were commissioned to settle all difficulties, between Great Britain and the colonies. But, not addressing Washington

by the title due to his rank, he thought proper to decline receiving their communication. It appeared, however, that the power of these com. missioners extended little farther than, in the language of their instructions, "to grant pardons to such as deserve mercy."

On

Sec. 45. The American army, in and near NewYork, amounted to seventeen thousand two hundred and twenty-five men, a part of whom were encamped near Brooklyn, on Long-Island. the 27th of August, this body of the Americans, under command of Brigadier Gen. Sullivan, were attacked by the British, under Sir Henry Clinton, Percy, and Cornwallis, and were defeated, with the loss of upwards of a thousand men,* while the loss of the British amounted to less than four hundred. Gen. Sullivan, and Brigadier Generals Lord Stirling and Woodhull, fell into the hands of the British as prisoners.

In the heat of the engagement, Gen. Washington had crossed over to Brooklyn from New-York, and on seeing some of his best troops slaughtered, or taken, he uttered, it is said, an exclamation of anguish. But deep as his anguish was, and much as he wished to succor his troops, prudence forbad the calling in of his forces from New-York as they would by no means have sufficed to render his army equal to that of the English.

Sec. 46. After the repulse at Brooklyn, perceiving the occupation of his position on Long Island to be of no probable importance, Washington withdrew his troops to New-York, and soon after evacuated the city, upon which, on the 15th of September, the British entered it.

Seldom, if ever, was a retreat conducted with more abi

* Authorities differ as to the loss of the Americans in the battle. Gen Washington did not admit that the loss exceeded 1000 men; but it is thought that in the estimate he included only regular troops. Some make the loss a little short of 2000.