which he was appointed in 1778. He was elected governor of Virginia in 1779. In 1781 he retired from public life, and devoted his time to literary and scientific pursuits. He was sent to France to join Franklin and Adams in 1783, and in 1785 succeeded Franklin as minister there. Washington appointed him Secretary of State in 1789, which office he held until 1793. He was elected vice-president of the United States in 1797, and in 1801 was elevated to the chief magistracy. He was reelected in 1805, and after eight years service as president, he retired from public life. He died on the fourth of July, 1826, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, just fifty years after voting for the Declaration of Independence. His residence and seal are delineated on pages 547 and 548 of this volume.

Benjamin Harrison was a native of Virginia. He was educated at William and Mary College, and commenced his polit. ical career in 1764, when he was elected to the Virginia Legislature. He was elected a member of the Continental Congress in 1774, where he continued until the close of 1777. He was chosen speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses early in 1778, and held that office until 1782, when he was elected governor of Virginia. He retired from that office in 1785, but remained active in public life until his death, which was caused by gout, in April, 1791. Mr. Harrison was father of the late W. H. Harrison, president of the United States. His residence is delineated on page 441 of this volume.

Thomas Nelson, Jun., was born at York, Virginia, on the twenty sixth of December, 1738. He went to England to be educated, at the age of fourteen years, and graduated at Cambridge with a good reputation. He entered upon political life soon after his return to America, and in 1775 was elected a member of the Continental Congress. He held a seat there during the first half of the war, and in 1781 was elected governor of Virginia. He was actively engaged in a military capacity at the siege of Yorktown, when Cornwallis and his army were made captives. Governor Nelson died on the fourth of January, 1789, in the fiftieth year of his age. His residence is delineated on page 521 of this volume.

Francis Lightfoot Lee was born in Westmoreland, Virginia, on the fourteenth of October, 1734. He was educated at home by Doctor Craig. In 1765 he was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, in which he continued a delegate until 1775, when he was sent to the Continental Congress. He remained a member of that body until 1779, when he retired to private life. Himself and wife died of pleurisy at about the same time. Mr. Lee's death occurred in April, 1797, at the age of sixty-three years.

Carter Braxton was born in Newington, Virginia, on the tenth of September, 1736, and was educated at William and Mary College. Possessed of wealth, he went to England, where he remained until 1760, when he was called to a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He distinguished himself there in 1765, when Patrick Henry's Stamp Act resolutions agitated the Assembly. He was elected to succeed Peyton Randolph in the Continental Congress in 1775. He was active in the National Legislature and in that of his own state until his death, which occurred on the tenth of October, 1797, from the effects of paralysis, in the sixty-first year of his age.

tire from office the following year. He died in October, 1790. at the age of forty-eight years.

Joseph Hewes was born at Kingston, New Jersey, in 1730, and was educated at Princeton College. He prepared for mercan tile life, entered successfully upon that pursuit, and at the age of thirty, located at Wilmington, North Carolina, where he soon accumulated a fortune. He was a member of the Colonial Legislature several consecutive years, and was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774. He continued in that body until 1779, when sickness compelled him to leave. He died on the tenth of November of that year, in the fiftieth year of his age.

John Penn was born in Carolina county, Virginia, on the seventeenth of May, 1741. His early education was neglected, but a strong mind overcame many obstacles. He studied law with Edmund Pendleton, and commenced its practice in 1762 He went to North Carolina in 1774, took a high position at the bar, and in 1775 was elected to a seat in the Continental Con gress. He was an active member of that body until 1779, when he returned home. He retired from public life at the close of the war, and died in September, 1788, in the forty-sixth year of his age.

SOUTH CAROLINA.

Edward Rutledge was born in Charleston in November, 1749 He was educated at Princeton, and studied law with his elder brother, John. He completed his legal education in England. and returned to America in 1773. In 1775, at the age of twen ty-five, he was elected to the Continental Congress. He re mained a member until the close of 1776, and was re-elected in 1779. He was made a prisoner at Charleston in 1780. After his release, he engaged in the duties of his profession until 1798, when he was elected governor of the state. He died on the twenty-third of January, 1800, in the fifty-first year of his age.

Thomas Heyward, Jun., was born in South Carolina in 1746 After receiving a thorough classical education, he commenced the study of the law. He completed his legal education in England, and, returning to America, married and settled. He was an early opponent of British oppression, and in 1775 was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress. He left that body in 1778, to fill a judicial seat in his native state. He com manded a battalion of militia during the siege of Charleston in 1780, was made a prisoner, and was sent with others to St. Augustine. He continued in public life as judge until 1798, when he retired. He died in March, 1809, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.

Thomas Lynch, Jun., was born in South Carolina on the fifth of August, 1749. He was educated in England, and graduated at Cambridge with honor. He studied law in London, returned home in 1772, and immediately took an active part in pol itics. He was appointed to the command of a company in a South Carolina regiment in 1775, and was soon afterward elect ed to a seat in the Continental Congress. His health failed, and, soon after affixing his signature to the Declaration of Independence, he returned home. With his wife, he sailed for the West Indies at the close of 1776. The vessel was never heard of afterward.

Arthur Middleton was born in South Carolina in 1743. He graduated at Cambridge, England, and returned to America in 1773. He was elected a member of the Council of Safety at Charleston in 1775, and in 1776 was sent a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was in Charleston when it was surren dered to the British in 1781, was made prisoner, and remained in captivity more than a year. A large portion of his ample fortune was melted away by the fires of the Revolution. He was engaged in active political life until his death, which oc curred on the first of January, 1789, in the forty-fourth year of his age.

GEORGIA.

Button Gwinnett was born in England in 1732. He was well educated, and after being engaged in mercantile business in his native country for several years, he came to America, settled first at Charleston, and afterward purchased a large tract of land in Georgia, where he made his permanent residence. He was a delegate for Georgia in the Continental Congress in 1776, but returned home soon after signing the Declaration of Inde pendence. He assisted in framing the State Constitution of Georgia, and under it was elected president of the state, an

office equivalent to that of governor. He had a quarrel with General M'Intosh which resulted in a duel. Gwinnett was mortally wounded, and his life ended at the age of forty-six

years.

Lyman Hall was born in Connecticut in 1721. He graduated at Yale College, studied medicine, and went to South Carolina in 1752. He removed to Georgia, and was practicing the profession of a physician when the Revolution broke out. The parish of St. John's elected him to a seat in the Continental Congress in 1775. Georgia soon afterward joined the confederation of revolted colonies, and Dr. Hall was elected a general delegate, with Gwinnett and Walton. He resided at the North while the British held possession of Georgia, and all his property was confiscated to the crown. He returned to his adopted state in 1782, and was elected governor the following year. After exercising the duties of his office for some time, he retired from public life. He died in Burke county in 1784, in the sixty-third year of his age.

George Walton was born in Frederick county, Virginia, in 1740. He was bred a mechanic, but on attaining his majority, he went to Georgia and commenced the practice of the law. He was elected a member of the Continental Congress in 1776, and remained active in that body until near the close of 1778, when he returned home. He was wounded and made prisoner at Savannah when it was taken by Campbell. In October, 1779, he was elected governor of the state, and in 1780 was again sent to Congress. He was again governor of Georgia, then chief justice, and in 1798 was a United States Senator. There he remained one year, and then retired. He died at

Augusta on the second of February, 1804, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.

VII.

THE LOYALISTS.

THE Loyalists of the Revolution were of two kinds, active and passive, and these were again divided into two classes each, the mercenary and the honest. We have elsewhere observed that when the Declaration of Independence was promulgated, many influential men, who were fully alive to the importance of demanding from Great Britain a redress of existing and increasing grievances, were not prepared to renounce all allegiance, and they adhered to the interests of the crown. These formed a large class in every rank in society, and, being actu ated by conscientious motives, command our thorough respect. Many of these took up arms for the king, remained loyal throughout the contest, and suffered severely in exile when the contest was ended. Others, for purposes of gain, and some to indulge in plunder and rapine under legal sanction, were active against the patriots, and their crimes were charged upon the whole body of the Loyalists. The fiercest animosities were engendered, and common justice was dethroned. The Whigs, who suffered dreadfully at the hands of marauding Tories, hated the very name of Loyalist, and. through the instrumentality of confiscation acts and other measures, the innocent were often punished for the crimes of the guilty. But when peace came, and animosities subsided, justice bore sway, and much property was restored. Yet the claims of the British commissioners in negotiating the treaty

*This is from an allegorical picture by Benjamin West. Religion and Jus tice are seen extending the mantle of Britannia, while she herself is holding out her arm and shield to receive the Loyalists. Under the shield is the crown of Great Britain, surrounded by Loyalists. The group has representatives of the Law, the Church, and Government, with other people. An Indian chief extends one hand toward Britannia, and with the other points to Widows and Orphans, rendered so by the war. In a cloud near Religion and Justice is seen the Genii of Great Britain and America, in an opening glory, binding up the broken fasces of the two countries, as emblematic of the treaty of peace. At the head of the Loyalists, with a large wig, is seen Sir Willian Pepperell, one of their most efficient friends in England, and imme

of peace, to indemnity for the Loyalists by the United States government, could not be allowed, for it was justly argued that during the war the Whigs had lost as much and more by the machinations of the Tories, as the latter had done by confisca tions and the consequences of exile.

It is estimated by Sabine that at least twenty thousand Loyalists took up arms for the king during the war. The first or. ganizations were under Governors Dunmore and Martin; and besides those under Butler and Johnson, in New York, and Colonel Ferguson, at King's Mountain, there were twenty-nine or thirty regiments, regularly officered and enrolled. These were disbanded at the close of the war, and some of the officers were transferred to the regular army and continued in service for life. Others, less fortunate, went, with a host of military and civil companions, into exile, the Northern ones chiefly to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the Southern ones to the Bahamas, Florida, and the British West Indies. Many also went to England, and for years they were importunate petitioners to the government for relief. The officers generally received half pay.

Toward the close of 1782, a committee of Parliament was appointed to attend to the claims of the Loyalists. The result of their 'investigations was to deny the claims of some who had already received aid, and to allow more to others of greater worth. By their decision in June, 1783, £43,245 per annum were distributed among six hundred and eighty-seven Loyalist pensioners. The claimants finally became so numerous, that a permanent Board of Commissioners was appointed, which continued for almost seven years. On the twenty-fifth of March, 1784, the number of claimants was two thousand and sixty-three, and the amount of property claimed to have been lost by them was £7,046,278, besides debts to the amount of £2,354,183. The commissioners continued their labors, reported from time to time, and in 1790 Parliament settled the whole matter by enactment. It appears that on the final adjustment of claims nearly fifteen millions of dollars were distributed among the Loyalists, "an unparalleled instance of magnanimity and justice in a nation which had expended nearly one hundred and sixteen millions of dollars in the war." A minute account of the Loyalists, their aggressions, sufferings, claims, and indemnities, may be found in the Historical Essay prefixed to Sabine's biographical sketches of the American Loyalists.

VIII.

THE FOSTER-CHILD OF THE REPUBLIC.

On the fifth of April, 1777, the Continental Congress, after resolving to erect appropriate monuments to the memory of Generals WARREN and MERCER, the first in Boston, and the second in Fredericksburg, Virginia, also resolved "That the eldest son of General Warren, and the youngest son of General Mercer, be educated from this time at the expense of the United States." The monuments have never been erected, but the promises to the living were faithfully performed. The "youngest son of General Mercer" was born about six months after the father made his will and joined the army of patriots,

in July, 1776. His mother was Isabella Gordon. She sur vived her martyred husband about ten years, and during that time made an indelible impression of her own excellence upon the character of her son. He was educated at William and Mary College during its palmiest days, while under the charge of Bishop Madison. For a long series of years he was colonel of the militia of his native county (Spottsylvania), and for twenty years he was an active magistrate. For five consecu tive years Colonel Mercer represented his district in the Virginia Legislature, when, preferring the sweets of domestic life to the honors and turmoils of office, he declined a re-election. He was soon afterward elected president of the Branch Bank of Virginia, located at Fredericksburg, which station he has continued to fill until the present time. Through life Colonel Mercer has enjoyed good health, and has ever been distinguished for energetic and methodical business habits. He is now in the seventy-seventh year of his age; and at the "Sentry Box," his estate near Fredericksburg, he lives in dignified ease, one of the few remaining specimens of a Virginia gentleman of the old school. He is the last survivor of his father's family, which consisted of four sons and a daughter.

* See The American Loyalists, &c., by Lorenzo Sabine, page 58.

The following are the names of many of these corps, preserved by Sabine, page 60. The King's Rangers; the Royal Fencible Americans; the Queen's Rangers; the New York Volunteers; the King's American Regiment; the Prince of Wales's American Volunteers; the Maryland Loyalists; De Lancey's battalions; the second American Regiment; the King's Rangers, Carolina; the South Carolina Royalists; the North Carolina Highland Regiment; the King's American Dragoons; the Loyal American Regiment; the American Legion; the New Jersey Volunteers; the British Legion; the Loyal Forester; the Orange Rangers; the Pennsylvania Loyalists; the Guides and Pioneers; the North Carolina Volunteers; the Georgia Loyalists; the West Chester Volunteers. To these may be added the Newport Associates; the Loyal New Englanders; the Associated Loyalists; Went worth's Volunteers; Johnson's Royal Greens, and seventeen companies of Loyal militia, under Colonel Archibald Hamilton of New York. Adolphus.

See Journals, iii., 98. This signature of General Mercer I copied from his will, which is dated February 6, 1776; about eleven months previous to his death.

IX.

AUTOGRAPHS OF WASHINGTON'S LIFE GUARD.

SINCE the publication of the account of Washing ton's Life Guard, on page 120, of this volume, I have received from Schuyler Colfax, Esq., grandson of General Colfax (who was the commander of the Guard during the last years of the war), an interesting document, containing the signatures of the members of the corps in February, 1783. These were appended to an order accepted by the commander, to pay to Melancthen, Smith, & Co. the amount of one month's pay, which that firm had advanced with the understanding that they were to wait for reimbursement until the corps was paid by Congress. Colfax's acceptance was as follows: "Accepted to pay when received from the paymaster general." It appears by the amount set opposite each man's signature or "mark" (for several of them, it will be observed, could only make their mark), that the pay of officers and privates was as follows, per month: the commander and his lieutenant, twenty-six dollars and sixty cents each; sergeants, ten dollars each; corporals and drummers, seven dollars and thirty cents each; drum-major (Diah Manning), nine dollars; and privates, six dollars and sixty cents each. I have grouped the autographs as closely as pos sible, so as to economize space. I am also indebted to Mr. Col. fax for the following brief sketch of the public life of the "captain commandant:"