el Adams and his cousin John, were distrusted by some
people as extremists and fire-eaters. They wished to bring about a
declaration of independence, for they believed it to be the only
possible cure for the evils of the time. The leaders in other colonies,
upon which the hand of the British government had not borne so heavily,
had not yet advanced quite so far as this. Most of them believed that
the king could be brought to terms; they did not realize that he would
never give way because it was politically as much a life and death
struggle for him as for them. Washington was not yet clearly in favour
of independence, nor was Jefferson, who a twelvemonth hence was to be
engaged in writing the Declaration. It is doubtful if any of the leading
men as yet agreed with the Adamses, except Dr. Franklin, who had just
returned from England after his ten years' stay there, and knew very
well how little hope was to be placed in conciliatory measures. The
Adamses, therefore, like wise statesmen, were always on their guard lest
circumstances should drive Massachusetts in the path of rebellion faster
than the sister colonies were likely to keep pace with her. This was
what the king above all things wished, and by the same token it was what
they especially dreaded and sought to avoid. To appoint George
Washington to the chief command was to go a long way toward irrevocably
committing Virginia to the same cause with Massachusetts, and John Adams
was foremost in urging the appointment. Its excellence was obvious to
every one, and we hear of only two persons that were dissatisfied. One
of these was John Hancock, who coveted military distinction and was vain
enough to think himself fit for almost any position. The other was
Charles Lee, a British officer who had served in America in the French
War and afterward wandered about Europe as a soldier of fortune. He had
returned to America in 1773 in the hope of playing a leading part here.
He set himself up as an authority on military questions, and pretended
to be a zealous lover of liberty. He was really an unprincipled
charlatan for whom, the kindest thing that can be said is that perhaps
he was slightly insane. He had hoped to be appointed to the chief
command, and was disgusted when he found himself placed second among the
four major-generals. The first major-general was Artemas Ward of
Massachusetts; the third was Philip Schuyler of New York; the fourth was
Israel Putnam of Connecticut. E