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place lip was also assisted by the inhabitants of Die
town. Indeed, he felt encouraged during the cutue
campaign by the friendship of the Spanish governor
beyond the Mississippi.
When General Clinton should have co-operated with Burgoyne he set out for the conquest of Phila- delphia, the capital of the new union. Transporting his army by the Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay, he landed in Maryland, marched towards Philadelphia and, after defeating Washington's army on the Brandj'wine, occupied the capital. Though the fighting around Philadelphia was not decisive, the patriot army, as shown in the engagement at German- town (Oct., 1777), was improving in efficiency. To defend the Continental military stores, as well as to menace Philadelphia, Washington went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. It is unnecessary to repeat the familiar story of the sufferings of the patriot army. One thnig, however, was accomplished during that terrible winter. The little army of Washington was rigorously drilled by the German volunteer. Baron Von Steuben. Thereafter the Continentals were a match for the best-drilled troops of England. In the spring of 1778 there was a rumour that, a French fleet had sailed for the Delaware. This consideration, together with the improvement in the condition of Washington's army, persuaded the British to return across New Jersey to New York City. During this march a severe engagement occurred at Monmouth Court House, N. J., 28 June, 1778. It was only the treachery of General Charles Lee that i)re- vented Washington from winning a more complete victory.
The alliance with France has been noticed. The operations of its fleet at Newport are popularly re- garded in America as having been somewhat useless. As a matter of fact, the activity of the allies put the British on the defensive at the very moment that they had decided to wage aggressive war. At an early stage Beaumarchais had forwarded military supplies to the United States. After Feb., 1778, his government loaned large sums of money (.S6,352,.500), used its armies wherever the opportunity offered, and into every quarter of the globe, even into the Indian Ocean, sent its warships to tight England.
When New England and the Middle States were believed to be lost, the British endeavoured to win back the South. This poUcy brought Cornwalhs into the Carolinas. After a crushing defeat of one of his subordinates at King's Mountain he retired into Virginia, watched by the vigilant General Greene. That oflicer had been sent South to reorganize and to command the army that had been ruined by the inca- pacity of General Gates. While he won no gieat victories, Greene foimd himself a little stronger after each engagement ; the discipline and the equipment of his army also were constantly improving. He suc- ceeded in drawing Cornwalhs farther and farther from his base of supplies on the coast. The posts forming Cornwallis's line of communication were successively surprised by partisan bands commanded by such officers as Marion, Sumter, and Pickens. With Greene's army growing stronger, the independent forces more bold, aTid his own force melting .awaj', nothing appears to have been left for Cornwalhs but to fortify himself in Virginia. His army with a smaller force under .\rnold (who had deserted to the British) destroyed much private property in that state. A small force under General Lafayette had been sent by W'ashington to watch the movements of the enemy. It was about this time that there arrived from Europe a great French fleet under the Coimt de Grasse, perhaps the most powerful armament that had put to sea since the days of the Spanish Armada. It defeated a great British fleet off the capes of the Chesapeake and gave Washington the opportvmity for which he had yearned. It then approached the
position of Cornwalhs at Yorktown. Meanwhile
the commander-in-chief was hurrjing southward
from New York with his own army and a fine French
army under General Rochambeau to join the force
under Lafayette. Further to embarrass Cornwalhs,
a French force imdcr the Marciuess Saint-Simon was
landed. Theallied armies under \\ ashington promptly
began the siege of Yorktown, which ended, 19 Oct.,
1781, in the surrender of the army of Cornwalhs.
Thus ended the mihtary phase of the War for Indepen-
dence, and thus culminated a party struggle that had
long been in progress on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Whigs, whether English or American, had been
endeavouring to diminish the power of the king; the
Tories, both English and American, would preserve
that power unimpaired. The Whig opposition in
England and Ireland finally forced George III to
apply to Russia for troops, and, when they were
refused, to hire W^aldeckcrs, Brunswickers, and Hes-
sians. Besides these foreign soldiers there was in
America a large number of Loyalists or Tories. These
fought in the armies of the king, and when the war
was over, because of the hostility of the patriots, settled
in England or in Canada.
When the Revolutionary War began, there were few Catholics in the United States. Perhaps their number did not exceed 26,000. However, members of that faith were to be found on all her borders, and everywhere they were either neutral, as were many in Canada, or friendly, as in the Spanish colonies around the Mexican Gulf and in the French settlements of the Illinois country. The services of the latter have been noticed, while those of the Spaniards of New Orleans would require much space to describe. The reader who desires to examine this neglected phase of the Revolution wiU find ample materials in the unpublished papers of Oliver Pollock, on file in the Library of Congress. It is well known that Spain declared war against England (1779) and loaned money to the United States. It is known also that the Dutch Republic was friendly to America and that among all the Netherland elements who favoured its independence Catholics were conspicuous. During the progress of the war Frederick the Great had urged the United Provinces, as he had urged France, to join in the war against England. The withholding by George III of the subsidy that had formerly been granted to Prussia incensed its ruler against his former ally.
It has been stated that the colonies were wretch- edly prepared for engaging in war with the mother country. In July, 177.5, it was voted to issue due bills for 2,000,000 Spanish milled dollars, to be sunk by taxes in four successive years, beginning 30 Nov., 1779, the taxes to be levied and collected by the states in proportion to population. These bills Congress petitioned the states to make legal tender. In different ways and at different times this was done, and before 4 July, 1776, $9,000,000 in due bills were out. To distinguish it from the issues of the states this was called "Continental" currency. From this time forward fiat money got possession of the American people, and by 1779 the issues amounted to .?242,000,000 in a single year. By 1781 the whole mass became worthless.
Up to this time the fatal error was the behef that the credit and currency of continental money could be maintained by acts of compulsion. From this delusion, which affected governments, state and national, few persons were exempt. By October, 1779, Boston was on the verge of starvation; money transactions had nearly ceased, and business was done by barter. In May, 1779, there was a mutiny of certain Connectic\it regiments on account of bad pay. In Janu.ary, 1781, there was a mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line for the same reason. In that disturbance the soldiers killed a captain who tried to
