mishes which had occurred since the commencement of hostilities, in all of which he gave strong presages of capacity and distinction in the profession of arms. Bu the fond hopes of his country were to be closed in death; not, however, until he had sealed with his blood the charter of our liberties, nor until he had secured that permanence of glory with which we encircle the memory, whilst we cherish the name of Warren.

The battle of Bunker's Hill was, in many respects, one of the most remarkable conflicts that has moistened the earth with human blood. No spirit of prophecy is required to foretell, that from the consequences with which it is connected, and which it may be said to have guaranteed, after ages will consider it one of the most interesting of all battles; and that it will be hallowed by the gratitude of mankind, as among the most precious and beneficent contests, ever waged in behalf of human rights and human happiness.

Dr. Warren published an oration in 1772, and another in 1775, commemorative of the 5th of March, 1770.

The sword of general Warren, which he held in his hand when he fell at Bunker's Hill, is now in the possession of the honourable William Davis, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is preserved as a precious relic. It was purchased by an American sailor, from the servant of the officer who took the sword from the grasp of the deceased patriot, at Halifax, and its identity has been sufficiently established.

WASHINGTON, GEORGE, commander in chief of the American army, during the revolutionary war with Great Britain, and first president of the United States, was the third son of Mr. Augustine Washington, and was born at Bridges creek, in the county of Westmoreland, Virginia, February 22, 1732. His great grandfather had emigrated to that place from the north of England, about the year 1657. At the age of ten years, he lost his father, and the patrimonial estate descended

to his elder brother, Mr. Lawrence Washington, who, in the year 1740, had been engaged in the expedition. against Carthagena. In honour of the British admiral, who commanded the fleet employed in that enterprise, the estate was called Mount Vernon. At the age of fifteen, agreeably to the wishes of his brother, as well as to his own urgent request to enter into the British navy, the place of a midshipman in a vessel of war, then stationed on the coast of Virginia, was obtained for him. Every thing was in readiness for his departure, when the fears of a timid and affectionate mother prevailed upon him to abandon his proposed career on the ocean, and were the means of retaining him upon the land, to be the future vindicator of his country's rights. All the advantages of education which he enjoyed, were derived from a private tutor, who instructed him in English literature, and the general principles of science, as well as in morality and religion. After his disappointment, with regard to entering the navy, he devoted much of his time to the study of mathematics; and in the practice of his profession as a surveyor, he had an opportunity of acquiring that information respecting the value of vacant lands, which afterwards greatly contributed to the increase of his private fortune. At the age of nineteen, when the militia of Virginia were to be trained for actual service, he was appointed an adjutant-general, with the rank of major. It was for a very short time that he discharged the duties of that office. In the year 1753, the plan formed by France, for connecting Canada with Louisiana by a line of posts, and thus of enclosing the British colonies, and of establishing her influence over the numerous tribes of Indians on the frontiers, began to be developed. In the prosecution of this design, possession had been taken of a tract of land, then believed to be within the province of Virginia. Mr. Dinwiddie, the lieutenant-governor, being determined to remonstrate against the proposed encroachment and violation of the treaties between the two countries, despatched major Washington through the wilderness to the Ohio, to deliver a letter to the commanding officer of the French, and also to explore the country. This trust of danger and fatigue, he executed with great ability. He left

Williamsburg, October 31, 1753, the very day on which he received his commission, and at the frontier settlement of the English, engaged guides to conduct him over the Allegheny mountains.

At a place upon the Allegheny called Murdering town, they fell in with a hostile Indian, who was one of the party then lying in wait, and who fired upon them not ten steps distant. They took him into custody, and kept him until nine o'clock, and then let him go. To avoid the pursuit which they presumed would be commenced in the morning, they travelled all night. On reaching the Monongahela, they had a hard day's work to make a raft with a hatchet. In attempting to cross the river to reach a trader's house, they were enclosed by masses of ice. In order to stop the raft, major Washington put down his setting pole, but the ice came with such force against it, as to jerk him into the water. He saved himself by seizing one of the raft logs. With difficulty they landed on an island, where they passed the night. The cold was so severe, that the pilot's hands and feet were frozen. The next day they crossed the river upon the ice. Washington arrived at Williamsburg, January 16, 1754. His journal, which evinced the solidity of his judgment and his fortitude, was published.

As the French seemed disposed to remain on the Ohio it was determined to raise a regiment of about three hundred men to maintain the claims of the British crown, The command was given to Mr. Fry; and major Washington, who was appointed lieutenant-colonel, marched with two companies early in April, 1734, in advance of the other troops. A few miles west of the Great Meadows, he surprised a French encampment in a dark rainy night, and only one man escaped. Before the arrival of the two remaining companies. Mr. Fry died, and the command devolved on colonel Washington. Being joined by two other companies of regular troops from South Carolina and New York, after erecting a small stockade at the Great Meadows, he proceeded towards fort Du Quesne, which had been built but a short time, with the intention of dislodging the French. He had marched only thirteen miles, to the westernmost foot of Laurel Hill, before he received information of the ap

proach of the enemy with superior numbers, and was induced to return to his stockade. He began a ditch around it, and called it fort Necessity; but the next day, July 3, he was attacked by fifteen hundred men. His own troops were only four hundred in number. The action commenced at ten in the morning, and lasted until dark. A part of the Americans fought within the fort, and a part in the ditch filled with mud and water. Colonel Washington was himself on the outside of the fort during the whole day. The enemy fought under cover of the trees and high grass. In the course of the night, articles of capitulation were agreed upon. The garrison were allowed to retain their arms and baggage, and to march unmolested to the inhabited parts of Virginia. The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded, was supposed to be about a hundred, and that of the enemy about two hundred. In a few months afterwards orders were received for settling the rank of the officers, and those who were commissioned by the king being directed to take rank of the provincial officers, colonel Washington indignantly resigned his commission.

But

He now retired to Mount Vernon, that estate, by the death of his brother, having devolved upon him. in the spring of 1755, he accepted an invitation from general Braddock to enter his family as a volunteer aid-decamp in his expedition to the Ohio. He proceeded with him to Will's creek, afterwards called fort Cumberland, in April. After the troops had marched a few miles from this place, he was seized with a raging fever; but refusing to remain behind, he was conveyed in a covered wagon. By his advice, twelve hundred men were detached in order to reach fort Du Quesne, before an expected reinforcement should be received at that place. These disincumbered troops were commanded by Braddock himself, and colonel Washington, though still extremely ill, insisted upon proceeding with them. After they arrived upon the Monongahela, he advised the general to employ the ranging companies of Virginia to scour the woods and prevent ambuscades; but his advice was not followed. On the ninth of July, when the army was within seven miles of fort Du Quesne, the enemy `commenced a sudden and furious attack, being concealer

by the woods and grass. Washington was the only aid that was unwounded, and on him devolved the whole duty of carrying the orders of the commander in chief. He was cool and fearless. Though he had two horses shot under him, and four balls through his coat, he escaped unhurt, while every officer on horseback was either killed or wounded. Doctor Craik, the physician who attended him in his last sickness, was present in this battle, and says, "I expected every moment to see him fall. Nothing but the superintending care of Providence could have saved him from the fate of all around him." After an action of three hours, the troops gave way in all directions, and colonel Washington and two others brought off Braddock, who had been mortally wounded. He attempted to rally the retreating troops; but, as he says himself, it was like endeavouring" to stop the wild bears of the mountains." The conduct of the regular troops was most cowardly. The enemy were few in numbers, and had no expectation of victory. In a sermon occasioned by this expedition, the reverend Dr. Davies, of Hanover county, thus prophetically expressed himself: " as a remarkable instance of patriotism, I may point out to the public that heroic youth, colonel Washington, whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved in so signal a manner, for some important service to his country." For this purpose he was indeed preserved, and at the end of twenty years, he began to render to his country more important services, than the minister of Jesus could have anticipated. From 1755 to 1759, he commanded a regiment, which was raised for the protection of the frontiers.

In July, 1758, another expedition was undertaken against fort Du Quesne, in which Washington commanded the Virginia troops. By slow marches they were enabled, on the 25th of November, to reach fort Du Quesne, of which, peaceable possession was taken, as the enemy, on the preceding night, setting it on fire, had abandoned it, and proceeded down the Ohio. The works in this place were repaired, and its name was changed to that of fort Pitt. Colonel Washington now resigned his commission.

Soon after his resignation he was married to the widow