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030 - Chapter 28 - Part 2 · The American Revolution A Historical Overview Vol. 3

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  Speaker 1: Section thirty of History of the Rise, Progress and Termination
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  Speaker 1: of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. History of the Riose, Progress and
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  Speaker 1: Termination of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty eight, Part two. Whether wholly influenced by compassion
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  Speaker 1: toward the loyalists, or whether stimulated by political reasons in
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  Speaker 1: the cabinet of his court, General Carlton did not appear
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  Speaker 1: to show any extraordinary degree of moderation in consequence of
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  Speaker 1: the delay. Several months after the proclamation for peace, General
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  Speaker 1: Carlton wrote the President of the Congress of the United States,
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  Speaker 1: and he wished to accelerate his orders to evacuate New York,
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  Speaker 1: and that he should lose no time as far as
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  Speaker 1: depended upon him to fulfill his Majesty's commands, but that
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  Speaker 1: the difficulty of assigning the precise theory for this event
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  Speaker 1: is of late greatly increased. He complained in his letter
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  Speaker 1: that the violence of the Americans, which broke out soon
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  Speaker 1: after the cessation of hostilities increased the number of their
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  Speaker 1: countrymental look to him for escape from threatened destruction, and
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  Speaker 1: that these terrors had of late been so considerably augmented
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  Speaker 1: that almost all within alliance conceived the safety both of
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  Speaker 1: their property and their lives depended upon being removed by him,
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  Speaker 1: which rendered it impossible to say when the evacuation could
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  Speaker 1: be completed. He said, whether they had just grounds to
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  Speaker 1: assert that there was either no government within the limits
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  Speaker 1: of the American territory a common protection, or that it
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  Speaker 1: secretly favoured the committees and the sovereignty they as soon
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  Speaker 1: and are actually exercising, he should not pretend to determine.
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  Speaker 1: He observed that as the public papers furnished repeated proofs
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  Speaker 1: not only of it disregard to the Articles of Peace,
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  Speaker 1: but contain barbarous menaces from committees formed in various towns, cities,
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  Speaker 1: and districts, and even at Philadelphia, the very place which
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  Speaker 1: the Congress had chosen for their residents, that he should
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  Speaker 1: show an indifference to the feelings of humanity, as well
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  Speaker 1: as to the honor and interest of the nation whom
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  Speaker 1: he served to leave any of the loyalists, that the
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  Speaker 1: desires to quit the country a prey to the violence
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  Speaker 1: they conceive they have so much cause to apprehend. He
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  Speaker 1: intimated that Congress might learn from his letter how much
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  Speaker 1: depended upon themselves in the subordinate legislatures to facilitate the
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  Speaker 1: service he was commanded to perform, that they might abate
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  Speaker 1: the fears in lessen the number of the emigrants. But
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  Speaker 1: should these fears continue and compelled such multitudes to remove,
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  Speaker 1: he should hold himself acquitted from every delay in fulfilling
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  Speaker 1: his orders and the consequences which may result therefrom He
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  Speaker 1: also added that it made no small part of his
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  Speaker 1: concern that the Congress had thought proper to suspend to
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  Speaker 1: so late an hower recommendations stipulated by the treaty, and
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  Speaker 1: in the punctual performance of which the King and his
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  Speaker 1: ministers had expressed such entire confidence. This letter was considered
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  Speaker 1: by Congress, the officers of the army, and the people
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  Speaker 1: in general, as evasive, if not affrontive, and taught them
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  Speaker 1: the necessity of standing on their guard and holding their
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  Speaker 1: arms in their hands until the removal of all hostile appearances,
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  Speaker 1: the entire evacuation of New York, and until the fleets
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  Speaker 1: of his Britannic Majesty wore withdrawn from the American seas.
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  Speaker 1: The loyalists were still very numerous in the city, though
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  Speaker 1: some of them had dispersed themselves in despair to seek
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  Speaker 1: an asylum without much dependence of government. Their situation was
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  Speaker 1: indeed truly deplorable. They had everything to fear that the
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  Speaker 1: British troops withdrew and left them to the clemency of
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  Speaker 1: their countrymen, now elated by success, and more hardened against
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  Speaker 1: the feelings of humanity by the cruel scenes of war
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  Speaker 1: they had witnessed. The conduct of the American refugees had
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  Speaker 1: been such from the commencement of hostilities that they could
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  Speaker 1: not but be conscious, as expressed by a celebrated of
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  Speaker 1: Aurican patriot, that they were responsible for all the additional
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  Speaker 1: blood that had been spilt. By the addition of their
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  Speaker 1: weight in the scale of the enemy. He observed, they
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  Speaker 1: were sensible. They could never regain the confidence of their
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  Speaker 1: late fellow subjects, whose very looks must confound an a
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  Speaker 1: banished man, who, in defiance of nature and education, had
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  Speaker 1: not only by a reversed ambition and bonded before freedom,
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  Speaker 1: but waged an infernal war against their nearest connections. But
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  Speaker 1: not making the like of Hoood election. Everyone will readily
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  Speaker 1: conceived that these people at this time were really in
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  Speaker 1: a distressed situation. Their own ideas of the improbability of
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  Speaker 1: harmony and quiet, even if permitted to return to the
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  Speaker 1: bosom of their country, comported with the above observations. These
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  Speaker 1: were strongly expressed in a memorial to the British Secretary
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  Speaker 1: of State, forwarded by them soon after the definitive treaty.
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  Speaker 1: In this memorial they observed that the personal animosities that
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  Speaker 1: arose from civil dissensions had been heightened by the blood
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  Speaker 1: that had been shed to such a degree that the
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  Speaker 1: two parties could never be reconciled. They therefore prayed that
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  Speaker 1: they might have an assignment of plans and assistance from
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  Speaker 1: the Crown to make settlements with themselves and families. The
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  Speaker 1: experiment of this intermixture and reunion of heterogeneous characters had
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  Speaker 1: not yet been tried, but from the temper of the
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  Speaker 1: people throughout the continent, they did not appear to be
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  Speaker 1: any great probability that the recommendation of Congress to the
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  Speaker 1: legislative bodies would disarmed the resentment or eradicate the painful
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  Speaker 1: ideas that the presence of American refugees would revive the
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  Speaker 1: minds of many had suffered too much in their persons
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  Speaker 1: or connections from such as they thought ought to have
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  Speaker 1: assisted in the struggle for the independence of their country,
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  Speaker 1: to be healed in a moment. It is beyond to
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  Speaker 1: doubt that there was little consolidatory feeling on either side.
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  Speaker 1: So far from it. The vanquished in New York were
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  Speaker 1: threatened with severe vengeance by one party, while the other
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  Speaker 1: poured out the most bitter expressions of resentment against the
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  Speaker 1: Congress of the people of America, now rejoicing in the
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  Speaker 1: success of their own arms. This temper was far from justifiable.
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  Speaker 1: It was neither acting as wise politicians or real Christians,
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  Speaker 1: but it was the natural abolition of injured and provoked
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  Speaker 1: human nature, which to seldom pays the strictest regard to
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  Speaker 1: national faith, honor, or moral precept when passion has been
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  Speaker 1: brought up beyond a certain degree of forbearance. It is
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  Speaker 1: matter of wonder that the whole class of loyalists, though
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  Speaker 1: disarmed of power, were so imprudent as not to discover
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  Speaker 1: any disposition to harmonize with or a wish to conciliate
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  Speaker 1: the affections of their former friends and associates. They expressed
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  Speaker 1: their rancor on all occasions, and when assured that the
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  Speaker 1: definitive treaty was actually signed, they broke out into the
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  Speaker 1: most violent paroxysms of rage and disappointment. Epithets of the
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  Speaker 1: most indecent and vindictive nature often felt from their lips
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  Speaker 1: and increased the general will discuss planted in the bosoms
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  Speaker 1: of their countrymen from their first detection from the American cause.
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  Speaker 1: Their recent outrages that had been committed sanctioned by orders
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  Speaker 1: from the Associated Board of Loyalists, as they styled themselves,
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  Speaker 1: had given reason to apprehend that a spirit of revenge
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  Speaker 1: would be excited that might preclude all lemity and forbearance
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  Speaker 1: in the minds of those citizens who had been pillaged, insulted,
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  Speaker 1: and abused. It was justly apprehended that the unhoused warners
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  Speaker 1: were fathers, brothers, or beloved sons betrayed into the hands
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  Speaker 1: of pitiless enemies. By this description of persons could not
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  Speaker 1: readily forgive end of Section thirty