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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 Excerpt:...Elm, Cambridge, Mass. Under this tree Washington first took command of the American Army, July 3d, 1775." "Now we will watch for that English ship," said the patriots. And at the first peep of dawn they sent a cannon ball banging against the sides of the English ship that had threatened them the night before. "Where did that come from?" the captain shouted. However, he did not stop to find out, but pulled up his anchor and hurried out of the harbor as fast as he could. Then the patriots shouted, "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" And so loud was their cheering that the British on Bunker Hill heard it. "Hear those Yankees!" growled the commander there. So he fired his cannon and filled the air with smoke, just to show his disapproval. Meantime the British soldiers on Boston Common were learning what it was to starve. Many of them were ready to desert to the American side; for even in the army itself there were many Whigs who knew that the Sons of Liberty were on the right side. But they belonged to King George and the English army, and therefore they must fight wherever their king sent them. "We cannot stand this," said Howe. "We are hemmed in so that the Tories can bring no food into the town. We shall starve; it is now four days since we have had any meat." So one morning the British soldiers folded up their tents, and marching down to their seventyeight ships that lay in the harbor, boarded them and sailed away to Halifax. And this was the end of the siege of Boston. XLVIII. Getting ready for Independence. 1775-76. Even now most of the American colonies had no wish to separate from England and call themselves an independent people. "We are still English," they said. "We love our mother...