"Whatnext?" inquired General Putnam.
"That is a difficult question to answer until I know General Howe's destination," replied Washington.
"Then you don't think he is going home?" continued Putnam facetiously.
"Not yet, though I wish he might; then I would go home, too."
"But seriously, where do you think he is going?" urged Putnam.
"I fear that he is bound to New York, for that is a port more important to him than even Boston." Washington spoke as if he were greatly perplexed.
"Well," added Putnam in his resolute way, "if he is bound for New York it won't do for us to be fooling about here long."
"No; and if I were certain that his destination were there, I should put you in command of that post at once," said Washington. "Besides the importance of the position to him, the large number of Tories in that town is a great inducement for him to strike there. Governor Tryon has been plotting something with them, and who knows but his appearance there will be the signal for them to rise against their own country."
"Just like 'em," answered Putnam. "A man who will turn against his own country ought to dangle at the end of a halter. With the British army outside, and hundreds of traitors inside, New York will make a poor show."
"There is no telling what a strong defence of the town can be made with the Lord on our side. My hope is in the righteousness of our cause."
Washington called a council of war in his perplexity. He laid before his military advisers his reasons for supposing that the foe, driven from Boston, had sailed for New York.
"The English will be chagrined over their defeat here, after all their boasting," said Washington, "and we may expect heavier blows in future somewhere. The king will not suffer 'rebels' to remain unmolested. We dowell to expect that in future the king will concentrate the military power of his government and hurl it upon us to bring us to terms."
It was finally determined to put General Putnam in command at New York, and he was hurried away, with all the troops in Boston but five regiments, and instructions to complete the fortifications commenced by General Lee. Two or three months before, in consequence of the appearance of a British fleet, under Clinton, in the harbor of New York, and the secret plottings of Governor Tryon and the Tories, Washington placed General Lee in command there. Lee at once arrested leading Tories, and sent them to prison, threatening all the rest, in his fiery way, with similar punishment if they continued to aid the enemy. Governor Tryon fled to a British man-of-war in the harbor, accompanied by several of his political advisers, and from those new headquarters he continued secret intercourse with the Tories. New dangers soon arising farther south, General Lee was transferred to the Southern Military Department, with headquarters at Williamsburg.
Such was the state of affairs in New York when General Putnam took command, with not more than eight thousand available troops in the town and vicinity.
Washington ordered three thousand militia to go to his aid from Connecticut, and as soon as he could arrange affairs in Boston he himself hastened to New York with his body-guard, where he arrived on the thirteenth day of April.
Before this time he had learned that General Howe proceeded to Halifax, to await large reinforcements from Great Britain; that his brother, Admiral Howe, with his naval fleet, would join him there, and then the great army would sail for New York.
He did not know, however, at that time, what the British Government was doing "to crush the rebels in North America." He learned afterwards that the king, stung to madness by the failure of his army in Boston, resolved to avenge the defeat by a terrible blow upon New York. He hired seventeen thousand Hessians to join the army, paying them liberally for their services, and these hirelings would swell the invading army to startling proportions.
Notwithstanding the evacuation of Boston, the cause of the patriots never seemed more hopeless than it did when the British army, under the two Howes, appeared below New York.
"Our army in Canada is beaten and shattered," Washington said, "and our cause is lost there. Here it is difficult to tell friend from foe. It is claimed that half of the people in New York are Tories, and what communications they may have with the British army, through Tryon, it is impossible to tell. We have not half the men absolutely required to hold this position, and what we have are poorly clad and equipped, and not half fed. Then we have reason to suspect that the enemy will come with greater inhumanity to man, and that fire and sword will do a more fearful work than ever. What some of the British officers are capable of doing in the way of fiendish devastation was shown in Boston, when the burning of every town between that city and Halifax was ordered, and Portland was laid in ashes."
Washington wrote to his brother:
"We expect a bloody summer in New York and Canada; and I am sorry to say that we are not, either in men or arms, prepared for it. However, it is to be hoped that, if our cause is just, as I most religiously believe, the same Providence which has in many instances appeared for us will still go on to afford us its aid."
Congress was in session at Philadelphia, and Washington went thither to confer with members concerning the summer campaign, and to plead for aid. Through his influence, Congress added twenty-three thousand militia to the army, including a flying camp of ten thousand.
In the midst of these troubles a conspiracy of startling magnitude was discovered. "A part of the plot being," says Sparks, "to seize General Washington and carry him to the enemy." Rev. John Marsh of Wethersfield, Conn., wrote and published the following account of the affair:
"About ten days before any of the conspirators were taken up, a woman went to the general and desired a private interview. He granted it to her, and she let him know that his life was in danger, and gave him such an account of the conspiracy as gained his confidence. He opened the matter to a few friends on whom he could depend. A strict watch was kept night and day, until a favorable opportunity occurred, when the general went to bed as usual, arose about two o'clock, told his lady that he was going with some of the Provincial Congress to order some Tories seized, desired she would make herself easy and go to sleep. He went off without any of his aides-de-camp, except the captain of his life-guard; was joined by a number of chosen men, with lanterns and proper instruments to break open houses; and before six o'clock next morning had forty men under guard at the City Hall, among whom was the mayor of the city, several merchants, and five or six of his own life-guard. Upon examination, one Forbes confessed that the plan was to assassinate the general and as many of the superior officers as they could, and to blow up the magazine upon the appearance of the enemy's fleet, and to go off in boats prepared for that purpose to join the enemy."
Thomas Hickey, one of Washington's own guard, was proved to be a leader in the plot, and he was sentenced to be hung. The sentence was executed on the twenty-eighth day of June, in a field near Bowery Lane, in the presence of twenty thousand people.
On the same day four of the enemy's warships dropped anchor in the bay. The next morning there were forty ships, and they continued to arrive until one hundred and thirty vessels of war and transports could be distinctly seen with a glass. The British troops were landed on Staten Island, where nearly all the people were Tories, although they had professed to be patriots.
While these warlike preparations were going forward, the American Congress was discussing the most important subject ever considered by a legislative body—that of American independence; and on the 4th of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
The discussion upon the adoption of this important document was conducted in secret session. The people outside knew what was before the Assembly, and there was great excitement. For hours citizens gathered about the State House, awaiting the decision with the utmost anxiety. A man was stationed in the steeple of the building to ring the bell when the decisive vote was declared. The bell was imported from England twenty-three years before, and bore this inscription:
"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof."
When the bell pealed forth the glad news that the Declaration of Independence was adopted, the joy of the people knew no bounds. The tidings spread from town to town, and awakened the most hearty response. On the ninth day of July, Washington caused the Declaration to be read at the head of each regiment, and it revived their drooping hopes more than the arrival of ten thousand recruits.
In their outburst of gladness, the soldiers indulged themselves in some excesses. There was a leaden statue of George III, in the Bowling Green, which they tore from its pedestal, and cut up, to run into bullets. Washington thought it was an unnecessary act of violence, denoting insubordination and recklessness, and he rebuked the deed by an order, in which he said:
"The general hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."
One day, before the engagement came on, General Putnam was crossing a field, which is now the "Park," when his attention was called to a company of artillery on drill. Observing the company for several minutes, he remarked to the commander:
"A well-disciplined company!"
"With some more practice they will be," the commander replied modestly.
"Have they attained to this excellence of drill under your command?"General Putnam asked, noticing that the officer could not be more than twenty years of age.
"Yes, sir; I have enjoyed some opportunities to study military science."
"Where?"
"First in the West Indies, where I was born. I was a merchant's clerk there, but longed for a military life, and finally I seized upon the first opportunity to study such books as I could find. After I came to this country my desire for military service did not abate, and I joined Captain Fleming's company."
"General Washington must know you," responded Putnam as he moved on.
We have introduced this incident here because the young commander was Alexander Hamilton, who became identified with the history of our country. He came to this country at fifteen; entered King's College, where he was the best scholar; joined one of the first volunteer companies organized in New York, and became so efficient that he was made captain of the artillery company he was drilling when General Putnam met him. He was not twenty years old at that time. Subsequently he became one of Washington's wisest counsellors. "In him were united," says another, "the patriot, the soldier, the statesman, the jurist, the orator, and philosopher, and he was great in them all."
British ships of war continued to arrive, bringing Hessians and Scotch Highlanders to swell the king's army. Still no particular movement to capture the city was made.
On the 21st of July, Washington heard from Sir Henry Clinton's fleet. Clinton left the British army in Boston, in December, 1775, and unexpectedly appeared in the harbor of New York, as we have stated. However, after a conference with Governor Tryon, he sailed south, saying that he had no intention of attacking New York.
Clinton soon appeared in Charleston Harbor, part of an expedition against South Carolina, under Sir Peter Parker, and in a few days joined in attacking the fort, six miles below the city. The fort was commanded by Sir William Moultrie. It was attacked with both fleet and army, on the twenty-eighth day of June, by one of the most terrible bombardments ever known at that time. An experienced British officer said, "It was the most furious fire I ever heard or saw."
A few days before, General Charles Lee advised abandoning the fort.
"A mere slaughter-house!" he exclaimed to Governor Rutledge, who was a true patriot. "A mere slaughter-house! A British man-of-war will knock it to pieces in half an hour!"
"Nevertheless, holding that fort is necessary to the defence of the city and State," answered Rutledge. "The fort must be held." He sent for Moultrie.
"General Moultrie, what do you think about giving up the fort?" he inquired, repeating the advice of General Lee.
Moultrie was indignant, and he replied:
"No man, sir, can have a higher opinion of British ships and seamen than I have. But there are others who love the smell of gunpowder as well as they do. Give us a plenty of powder and ball, sir, and let them come on as soon as they please."
"You shall have plenty of powder and ball," answered Rutledge, as he sent Moultrie back to his post.
The guns of Fort Moultrie riddled the British ships, and covered their decks with the dead and dying. One hundred and seventy-five men were killed on board the fleet, and as many more wounded. The Americans lost but thirty-five, and held the fort. A braver garrison never met a foe. Sergeant Jaspar saw the flag shot away, and leaped down upon the beach, snatched it up, and returned it to its place, shouting:
"Hurrah, boys! Liberty and America forever!" Governor Rutledge rewarded him with a sword.
Sergeant McDonald was terribly shattered by a cannon-ball, and he called out with his dying breath, "I die, but don't let the cause of liberty die with me!"
The enemy's fleet was driven off in a shattered condition. The commander was so deeply humiliated that even his black pilots insulted him. Weems says that he called to one of them:
"Cudjo, what water have you there?"
"What water, massa? what water? Why, salt water, sure sir! sea water always salt water, ain't he, massa?"
"You black rascal, I knew it was salt water; I only wanted to know howmuchwater you have there?"
"How much water here, massa? how much water here? God bless me, massa! Where I going get quart pot for measure him?"
The commander, even in his chagrin and trouble, could not but laugh at Cudjo's idea of measuring the Atlantic ocean with a quart pot.
This discomfited fleet returned to New York and joined the British army.
When the news of the signal victory of the patriots at Moultrie reached Washington, he announced it to the army, and said:
"With such a bright example before us of what can be done by brave men fighting in defence of their country, we shall be loaded with a double share of shame and infamy if we do not acquit ourselves with courage, and manifest a determined resolution to conquer or die."
A detachment of the army was sent to construct works from Wallabout Bay to Red Hook. Washington rode out one day to inspect the defences, when he approached a subaltern officer who was directing his men to raise a heavy timber to its place. Instead of lending a helping hand, the conceited fellow stood, shouting:
"Hurrah, boys,n-o-w, rightup,h-e-a-v-e," etc.
"Why do you not lend a helping hand?" said Washington, whom the officer did not know.
"What, sir! I lend a helping hand?" exclaimed the official sprig. "Why,sir, I'll have you know that I amcorporal!"
Washington leaped from his saddle, laid hold of the timber with the men, and helped lift it to its place. Then turning to the "corporal," he said sarcastically:
"Mr. Corporal, my name's George Washington. I have come over from New York to inspect the works here; so soon as you have done this piece of work, you will meet me at your commander's, General Sullivan's quarters."
Washington despised officers who felt above their business.
On a flying visit to Connecticut, he failed to reach his destination on Saturday night. Early Sunday morning he completed the few remaining miles of his journey. On his way, a tithing man came out of a house and inquired of the coachman:
"Is there any necessity of your travelling on the Lord's Day?"
Washington ordered his coachman to stop, and replied:
"I have no intention of breaking the laws of Connecticut; they meet my most cordial approbation. But I was disappointed in not being able to reach my destination last night, where I shall attend church."
Washington waited and waited for the enemy to move, and wondered that he did not. Putnam wrote to Gates:
"Is it not strange that those invincible troops who were to lay waste all the country, with their fleets and army, dare not put their feet on the main?"
About this time General Washington made the following address to his army:
"The time is now near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness, from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of a brave resistance or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die. Our own, our country's, honor calls upon us for a vigorous and manly action; and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us then rely upon the goodness of our cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions."
The American army had grown by this time to over twenty thousand men poorly equipped and fed, though not more than fifteen thousand were available for immediate action. Congress was slow to provide supplies, and everything dragged. Many of the men carried only a spade, shovel or pick-axe. At the call of the country, they responded with shovels in hand, having no guns. They could throw up works, though destitute of arms to repel the foe. It was this destitute condition of our army that led a British officer to write home derisively:
"The rebels are armed with scythes and pitchforks."
To rebuke the growing vice and recklessness of the army, Washington issued the following order:
"The general is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into fashion. He hopes the officers will by example, as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it."
On the 17th of August Washington observed a movement of the enemy.
"They are embarking," he said to one of his aides, "bound for some point. Thirty thousand of them will be able to crush us if, as General Lee says, 'God is on the side of heavy battalions.'"
He was not long in doubt concerning their destination, for they landed at Long Island.
"They mean to capture Brooklyn Heights," exclaimed Washington; "their designs are clear enough now."
"The city is at their mercy if they once capture that position," replied "Old Put," as the soldiers called General Putnam. "They must not besuffered to gain that position."
"You must go to General Sullivan's aid with six battalions, all the force we can spare," said Washington. "There is no time to be lost."
In anticipation of such a movement, Washington had stationed a body of troops on Brooklyn Heights under General Greene; but the latter was taken sick, and General Sullivan succeeded him, and now General Putnam was placed in command. No more men could be sent to Brooklyn Heights, because Washington expected the British fleet would attack the city.
He received the following message from General Livingston of New Jersey:
"I saw movements of the enemy on Staten Island, and sent over a spy at midnight, who brought back the following intelligence: Twenty thousand men have embarked to make an attack on Long Island, and up the Hudson. Fifteen thousand remained on Staten Island, to attack Bergen Point, Elizabethtown Point, and Amboy." The spy heard the orders read and the conversation of the generals. "They appear very determined," added he, "and will put all to the sword."
Again, in expectation of an immediate attack, he addressed the army to inspire them with determined valor, and said:
"The enemy have landed upon Long Island, and the hour is fast approaching on which the honor and success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding country, depend. Remember, officers and soldiers, that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty; that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men. It is the general's express orders that, if any man attempt to skulk, lie down, or retreat without orders, he be instantly shot down for an example."
Fifteen thousand British troops landed and advanced to seize the Heights. It was on the twenty-first day of August, 1776. A terrific battle of seven days followed, in which the slaughter and suffering were fearful. Alternate victory and defeat were experienced by both sides. Sometimes it was a hand-to-hand fight with bayonets. As Washington beheld a detachment of his heroic men pierced to death by Hessian bayonets, he wrung his hands in an agony of spirit, and exclaimed:
"O good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!"
There were but five thousand Americans pitted in this battle against fifteen thousand British, and yet they fought seven days.
On the twenty-eighth day of August, the British moved their line of battle to within a mile of the Yankee breast-works on the Heights. The capture of the Heights, with all the American soldiers, seemed inevitable. Between them and New York was the East River, which the enemy's fleet commanded. Before them was the foe, numbering three to one. To human view there was no hope for the brave little army of patriots.
But on that night a storm arose, and a dense fog enveloped the Heights. Early in the evening the rain began to fall, and, together, fog and rain created a dismal scene. At the same time a brisk breeze sprang up, sufficient to waft the boats across to the New York side. If anything more were needed to prove that God was favoring the smallest battalions,it was the fact that the night was clear on the New York side of the river.
"God is propitious to-night," said Washington to Putnam in a hopeful tone. "Under cover of this darkness we must cross the river and save our army."
"Our only salvation," replied Putnam.
Washington superintended the retreat personally, and, as the fog did not clear away until ten o'clock on the following day, his whole force, with guns and ammunition, were carried across the river before the enemy discovered the retreat. This retreat was regarded as one of the most signal achievements of the war. Sparks says, in his "Life of Washington:"
"The retreat, in its plan, execution, and success, has been regarded as one of the most remarkable military events in history, and as reflecting the highest credit on the talents and skill of the commander. So intense was the anxiety of Washington, so unceasing his exertions, that for forty-eight hours he did not close his eyes, and rarely dismounted from his horse."
"We cannot hold New York," said Washington, at a council of war he called immediately. "We are at the mercy of the enemy on every hand."
"From Brooklyn Heights British guns can lay this city in ashes," added Putnam.
"That is true; but the Howes will never order that destruction so longas half the citizens are Tories," replied Washington.
"Sure enough; that is a voucher against such a measure," responded Putnam. "But if thirty thousand well-armed and well-fed British troops, having possession of all the land and water around Manhattan Island, can't capture this small and undisciplined army, they don't deserve the name of soldiers."
"And now our men are disheartened," continued Washington. "We lost nearly two thousand men, killed, wounded, and missing, on Brooklyn Heights, and many of those who escaped have deserted. We must evacuate the city."
"And leave it in flames," added Putnam.
"Yes, apply the torch," said another; "we must do it in self-defence. What a strong position against us it will afford to the enemy!"
Washington saw reasons for adopting this extreme measure, but he could not take the responsibility. He did write to Congress about it, however, as follows:
"If we should be obliged to abandon the town, ought it to stand as winter quarters for the enemy? They would derive great convenience from it on the one hand, and much property would be destroyed on the other. At the present, I dare say, the enemy mean to preserve it if they can."
On the tenth day of September, Congress voted to leave the fate of the city in Washington's hands, and he left it unharmed.
Concerning the alarming desertions after the retreat from Brooklyn Heights, he wrote, in humane extenuation of the deserters' offence:
"Men just dragged from the tender scenes of domestic life, and unaccustomed to the din of arms, totally unacquainted with every kind of military skill, are timid, and ready to fly from their own shadows. Besides, the sudden change in their manner of living brings on an unconquerable desire to return to their homes."
Establishing his headquarters at King's Bridge, Washington superintended the retreat from New York, which was accomplished without the loss of anything except his heaviest cannon.
Colonel Humphreys wrote: "I had frequent opportunities that day of beholding Washington issuing orders, encouraging the troops, flying on his horse covered with foam, wherever his presence was most necessary. Without his extraordinary exertions the guards must have been inevitably lost, and it is possible the entire corps would have been cut in pieces."
He made a noble stand at Harlem Heights for three weeks, where he had several encounters with the foe. In one of these, two of his most brilliant officers were killed, Colonel Knowlton and Major Leith. Knowlton's last words were, "Did we drive the enemy in?" Speaking of Colonel Knowlton reminds us of an incident.
Soon after the retreat from Brooklyn, Washington said to Knowlton:
"It is important for me to know the strength of the enemy onLong Island. Can you name a trusty man who will find out?"
"I can," answered Knowlton. "If he will consent, he is just the man for such service."
"Send him to me immediately."
Within a short time Nathan Hale of Connecticut, one of the bravest and most promising young officers in the army, presented himself to the general.
"Can you ascertain for me the number and strength of the British on Long Island?" asked Washington.
"I think I can," replied Hale; "I am willing to try."
"You understand that it will cost your life if the enemy capture you. It is serious business."
"I understand. I understood that when I entered the army," was young Hale's cool and heroic reply.
"Go, then, and quickly as possible obtain the information I so much need."
Hale went to Long Island in the capacity of a schoolmaster, obtained the information that Washington desired, and on his return was discovered and arrested as a spy. Without trial or court-martial he was executed, in extremely aggravating circumstances.
"A clergyman, whose attendance he desired, was refused him; a Bible, for a moment's devotion, was not procured though he requested it. Letters which on the morning of his execution, he wrote to his mother and sister, were destroyed; and this very extraordinary reason was given by the provost-martial, 'that the rebels should not know that they had a man in the army who could die with so much firmness.' Unknown to all around him, without a single friend to offer him the least consolation, as amiable and as worthy a young man as America could boast was thus hung as a spy." His last words were:
"I lament only that I have but one life to give to the cause of liberty and the rights of man."
Soon after Washington withdrew his defeated army to Harlem Heights, he heard cannonading at the landing, where breastworks had been thrown up. Springing upon his horse, he galloped away in the direction of the firing, and, before he reached the place, he met his soldiers in full retreat before a squad of British, numbering not more than sixty or seventy. He drew his sword, and with threats, endeavored to rally them; but in vain. He was so shocked by their cowardice, and so determined to repel the foe, that he would have dashed forward to his death, had not his aides seized the reins of his charger, and turned him in the other direction.
On the 20th of September, after the British took possession of New York, a fire started one night in a drinking saloon, where soldiers were revelling (perhaps celebrating their triumphal entry into the city), and it spread with great rapidity. The buildings were mostly of wood, so that the devouring flames licked them up as tinder; and although the thousands of British soldiers exerted themselves to the utmost to extinguish the fire, one quarter of the city, about one thousandbuildings, was laid in ashes.
At this time the army in Canada had withdrawn to Crown Point, numbering about six thousand, one half of them being sick and the other half disheartened and disaffected. General Washington ordered them to retire to Ticonderoga for safety and rest. The small-pox was spreading among them to an alarming degree.
Jealousies among officers, dissatisfaction among soldiers, clashing interests among the Colonies, and a growing distrust of Washington, added to the complications of the American cause, and to the trials of Congress and the commander-in-chief.
Referring to the discordant interests throughout most of the Colonies, John Adams wrote: "It requires more serenity of temper, a deeper understanding, and more courage than fell to the lot of Marlborough, to ride in this whirlwind."
By request, General Lee returned from the South at this time. He was an accomplished military officer, and his successes at the South added much to his laurels. Many regarded him superior to Washington. The latter esteemed him highly as an officer of skill and experience. At a council of war held soon after his arrival, General Lee said:
"A position is not a good one simply because its approaches are difficult. No army can maintain itself with the enemy in front and rear, especially when the enemy's ships command the water on each side, as they do here. Your recent experience on Long Island and in New York shows the danger of such position."
"That is very true," answered Washington. "We cannot afford to hazard too much in the present condition of the army. I have satisfactory evidence that General Howe's purpose is to surround our camp, and capture the whole American army."
"And he is not much of a general if he does not do it," responded Lee. "For my part, I would have nothing to do with the islands to which you have been clinging so pertinaciously. I would give Mr. Howe a fee-simple of them."
"Where and when shall we be in a better condition to meet the enemy?" inquired General George Clinton, a brave but inexperienced officer. "We must fight the enemy somewhere; why not here?"
"I will answer your inquiry," replied Washington. "We shall be in a better condition to meet the foe when the Colonies have had time to furnish their quotas of recruits, as recently ordered by Congress."
At the earnest solicitation of Washington, Congress had voted that the Colonies should furnish eighty-eight battalions, in quotas, according to their abilities; that the pay of officers should be raised; troops serving throughout the war should receive a bounty of twenty dollars and one hundred acres of land, with a new suit of clothes annually. Those enlisting for three years were to receive twenty dollars bounty, but no land. This provision was a response to Washington's frequent protests against short enlistments and small pay, and it pointed to a reorganization of the army, on a permanent footing, according to Washington's frequently expressed ideas. The general had great expectations of relief from this more liberal policy.
"Our present action should look solely to the safety of the army,"interjected Lee. "To save it from annihilation or capture is our first duty."
"Certainly," rejoined Washington; "and now let this question be answered definitely: whether (considering that the obstructions in the North River have proved insufficient, and that the enemy's whole force is in our rear on Grog Point), it is now deemed possible, in our situation, to prevent the enemy from cutting off the communication with the country, and compelling us to fight them at all disadvantages or surrender prisoners at discretion?"
Every number of the council except General Clinton decided that it was impossible to occupy the present position without exposing the army to destruction or capture; hence, another retreat followed.
Washingtonwithdrew his army to White Plains, leaving nearly three thousand of his best troops to garrison Fort Washington. Congress believed that Fort Washington could hold the Hudson secure, and therefore ordered that a strong garrison be left there. It was not according to General Washington's idea, after he decided to retreat to White Plains, but he yielded to the request of Congress. General Putnam's obstructions in the river amounted to little. Four galleys,mounted with heavy guns and swivels; two new ships, filled with stones, to be sunk at the proper moment; a sloop at anchor, having on board an infernal machine for submarine explosion, with which to blow up the men-of-war; these were among the aids to the Fort, together with batteries on either shore, to prevent the enemy ascending the Hudson. Yet, on the ninth day of October, three British war-ships sailed triumphantly up the river, sweeping through the obstructions, with little damage to themselves.
The British pursued the American army. Washington threw up intrenchments hastily, designing to make but a temporary stay there. General Lee arrived with the rear division of the army, after the temporary fortifications were well under way.
"This is but a temporary camp," remarked Washington to Lee. "Yonder height (pointing to the north) is a more eligible location."
"I judge so," General Lee answered, taking in the situation at once.
"Let us ride out and inspect the ground for ourselves," proposed Washington. And they galloped away. On arriving at the spot, General Lee pointed to still another height farther north.
"That is the ground we ought to occupy," he said.
"Well, let us go and view it," replied Washington.
They had not reached the location when a courier came dashing up to them.
"The British are in the camp, sir!" he exclaimed to Washington.
"Then we have other business to attend to than reconnoitering," quickly and coolly replied the general, putting spurs to his horse and returning to camp.
"The pickets are driven in, but our army is in order of battle," Adjutant-General Reed informed him, as he reached headquarters.
"Gentlemen, return to your respective posts, and do the best you can," the general responded, without the least excitement.
By this time the British army was discovered upon the high ground beyond the village, advancing in two columns, "in all the pomp and circumstance of war." General Heath wrote afterwards:
"It was a brilliant but formidable sight. The sun shone bright, their arms glittered, and perhaps troops never were shown to more advantage."
A brief but hard-fought battle followed, in which there was a loss of about four hundred men on each side.
The enemy waited for reinforcements, and Washington improved the time to fall back to Northcastle, five miles, where, in the rocky fastness, he could defy the whole British army. To add to his advantages, the day on which the British commander decided upon an attack, after the arrival of reinforcements, a violent rain set in, and continued through the day, rendering an attack impossible, so that the Americans had still more time to strengthen their position.
On the night of Nov. 4, a heavy rumbling sound was heard in the direction of the British camp. It continued all through the night, and resembled the noise of wagons and artillery in motion. Day break disclosed the cause: the enemy was decamping. Long trains were seen moving over the hilly country towards Dobb's Ferry on the Hudson.
"A feint!" said General Lee, as soon as he discovered the situation.
"A retreat, more like," replied another officer. "The enemy sees little hope in attacking this stronghold."
"I can hardly believe that so large and well-disciplined an army is going to withdraw without giving battle," responded Washington. "No doubt an attack upon Fort Washington is the immediate purpose; and then, perhaps an invasion into the Jerseys."
There was much speculation among the officers as to the meaning of this manœuvre, and all of them were in more or less perplexity. Washington wrote immediately to Governor Livingston of New Jersey and hurried a messenger away with the letter:
"They have gone towards North River and King's Bridge. Some suppose they are going into winter quarters, and will sit down in New York without doing more than investing Fort Washington. I cannot subscribe wholly to this opinion myself. That they will invest Fort Washington is a matter of which there can be no doubt, and I think there is a strong probability that General Howe will detach a part of his force to make an incursion into the Jerseys, provided he is going to New York. He must attempt something on account of his reputation, for what has he done as yet with his great army?"
Satisfied that General Howe intended to capture Fort Washington, he advised its evacuation. He wrote to General Greene:
"If we cannot prevent vessels from passing up the river, and the enemy are possessed of all the surrounding country, what valuable purpose can it answer to hold a post from which the expected benefit cannot be had? I am, therefore, inclined to think that it will not be prudent to hazard the men and stores at Mount Washington; but as you are on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders as to evacuating Mount Washington as you may judge best, and so far revoking the orders given to Colonel Morgan, to defend it to the last."
General Greene took the responsibility to hold the fort; and when Colonel Morgan received a demand from the enemy to surrender, he replied: "I shall defend the fort to the last."
After a manly resistance, however, he was forced to surrender; and the fort, with its garrison of twenty-eight hundred men, and abundant stores, passed into the hands of the enemy. The prisoners were taken to New York and confined in the notorious British prison-ship, where they suffered long and terribly.
This was a very unfortunate affair for the American cause, and caused the commander-in-chief great anxiety. He wrote to his brother about it in a gloomy mood, and said:
"In ten days from this date there will not be above two thousand men, if that number, of the fixed, established regiments on this side of the Hudson River, to oppose Howe's whole army; and very little more on the other, to secure the eastern Colonies, and the important passes leading through the Highlands to Albany, and the country about the lakes.... I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde movement of things, and I solemnly protest that a pecuniary reward of twenty thousand pounds a year would not induce me to undergo what I do, and, after all, perhaps to lose my character; as it is impossible, under such a variety of distressing circumstances, to conduct matters agreeably to public expectation."
Washington's command was now at Fort Lee (formerly Fort Constitution). The next movement of the enemy was designed to hem them in between the Hudson and Hackensack, and capture them. The commander-in-chief ordered a hasty retreat, the want of horses and wagons making it necessary to abandon a large quantity of baggage, stores, and provisions, and even the tents and all the cannon except two twelve pounders. The retreat over the Hackensack was successfully performed, and here Washington ordered Colonel Greyson to send the following message to General Lee:
"Remove the troops under your command to this side of the North River, and there wait for further orders."
The next day Washington wrote to Lee:
"I am of opinion, and the gentlemen about me concur in it, that the public interest requires your coming over to this side of the Hudson with the Continental troops."
Not more than three thousand soldiers were with Washington at Hackensack, without intrenching tools, tents, and necessary supplies. Torisk an engagement in these circumstances was hazardous in the extreme, and a further retreat became inevitable. Leaving three regiments to guard the passages of the Hackensack, and to serve as covering parties, he withdrew to Newark, on the west bank of the Passaic.
To add to the perils of his situation, the term of enlistment of General Mercer's command was about to expire. He must have reinforcements, or his entire army would be destroyed. He hurried away Colonel Reed to Governor Livingston of New Jersey, and General Mifflin to Philadelphia, to implore aid. At the same time he depended upon General Lee for immediate reinforcements, not doubting that the latter was obeying his orders; but, to his amazement, a letter from Lee revealed the startling fact that he had not moved from Northcastle.
Washington renewed his orders to Lee to move with all possible despatch and come to his rescue. He said:
"The enemy are pushing on, and part of them have crossed the Passaic. Their plans have not entirely unfolded, but I shall not be surprised to find that Philadelphia is the object of their movement."
"We cannot make a stand here," said General Greene.
"By no means," answered Washington. "My hope is to make a stand at Brunswick, on the Raritan; or, certainly, to dispute the passage of the Delaware."
"Our retreat to Brunswick must be hastened, or the enemy will be upon us," added Greene.
The retreat was precipitated; and when the rear-guard of Washington's command was leaving one end of Newark, the vanguard of the British army was entering at the other.
On reaching Brunswick, Washington wrote at once to Governor Livingston, instructing him to collect all the boats and river craft on the Delaware for seventy miles, remove them to the western bank of the river, away from the enemy, and guard them.
He was doomed to additional disappointment at Brunswick. Colonel Reed raised no troops in New Jersey, and many of those raised by General Mifflin in Pennsylvania were deserting. The term of enlistment of General Mercer's command had expired, and no inducement or entreaties could prevail upon them to remain. He could not muster over four thousand men.
Still worse, a letter from General Lee to Colonel Reed disclosed the fact that the former had not given heed to the orders of his chief, and he was still at Northcastle. Moreover, the letter revealed that General Lee was plotting against him. Colonel Reed was absent when the letter arrived, and, according to his custom, Washington opened the letter, supposing it related to military business. What was his surprise to find that the letter contained insinuations against himself, and also implicated Colonel Reed, his old friend, in a plot to make Lee commander-in-chief.
We will say here, once for all, that, while General Lee was an able military officer, he was an ambitious, arrogant, and deceitful man. On his return from the South, his fame had reached the zenith, and some thought he ought to lead the American army. Washington's continuedretreats increased this feeling, until General Lee evidently thought there was a fair prospect of the removal of Washington, and his own promotion to commander-in-chief. Even Colonel Reed entertained this opinion, though afterwards he saw his mistake, and made suitable amends. This explains Lee's conduct before and after Washington retired from Brunswick.
Judge Jay related the following incident: "A short time before the death of John Adams, I was conversing with my father about the American Revolution. Suddenly he remarked:
"'Ah, William! The history of that Revolution will never be known. Nobody now alive knows it but John Adams and myself.'
"'You surprise me, father; to what can you refer?'
"'The proceedings of the old Congress.'
"'What proceedings?'
"'Those against Washington; from first to last there was a bitter party against him.'"
The "old Congress" sat with closed doors, so that the public learned only what it was wise to disclose.
Washington waited for recruits at Brunswick until the 1st of December. On that day the vanguard of the British army appeared on the opposite side of the Raritan. Washington destroyed the end of the bridge next to the village, to intercept the pursuit of the enemy, and retreated.Stopping at Princeton temporarily, he left twelve hundred troops there, under Lord Stirling and General Stephens, to keep an eye on the foe, and continued his retreat to Trenton.
While the American army decreased from week to week, the British army in pursuit was augmented; for, through the Jerseys, General Howe impressed men, horses, and wagons, and at the same time many Tories flocked to his standard. He issued a proclamation, also, offering pardon and protection to all citizens who would take the oath of allegiance to the king. There was so little hope of the American cause at that time, and Washington's army appeared so plainly to be near destruction, that many citizens took the oath and joined the British army, as they thought, from absolute necessity. "Many who had been prominent in the cause, hastened to take advantage of this proclamation," says Irving. "Those who had the most property to lose were the first to submit; the middle ranks remained generally steadfast in this time of trial."
A British officer wrote to his friends in London:
"The rebels continue flying before our army. Lord Cornwallis took the fort opposite Brunswick, plunged into Raritan River, and seized the town.... Such a panic has seized the rebels that no part of the Jerseys will hold them, and I doubt whether Philadelphia itself will stop their career. The Congress have lost their authority.... They are in such consternation that they know not what to do. The two Adamses are in New England; Franklin gone to France; Lynch has lost his senses; Rutledge has gone home disgusted; Dana is persecuting at Albany; and Jay is in the country, playing as bad a part, so that the fools have lost the assistance of the knaves."
"This," says Sparks, "was the gloomiest period of the war. The campaign had been little else than a series of disasters and retreats. The enemy had gained possession of Rhode Island, Long Island, the city of New York, Staten Island, and nearly the whole of the Jerseys, and seemed on the point of extending their conquests into Pennsylvania. By the fatal scheme of short enlistments, and by sickness, the effective force with General Washington had dwindled away, till it hardly deserved the name of an army."
Still Washington was hopeful, and expected that the cause of right would triumph. When and how he could not tell; but he continued to say, "That Providence which has brought us out of many difficulties will yet crown our righteous cause with success."
"I expected substantial aid from the Jerseys," he said to General Mercer. "I am disappointed that the people have not flocked to our standard."
"I am more than disappointed," replied Mercer; "I am shocked and vexed at the cowardice of the people."
"What think you," continued Washington, "if we should retreat to the back part of Pennsylvania, would the Pennsylvanians support us?"
The mountainous regions of Pennsylvania were the field of his early exploits against the French and Indians, and Mercer was with him there.
"If the lower counties give up, the back counties will do the same," Mercer answered in a desponding way.
"We must then retire to Augusta County, Virginia," responded Washington, his indomitable spirit rising superior to all discouragements. "Numbers will repair to us for safety, and we will try a predatory war. If overpowered, we must cross the Alleghanies."
Before this time, Colonel Reed said to him one day, "When shall we stop this everlasting retreating and make a stand?"
Washington answered, without the least show of resentment:
"If it becomes necessary, we will retreat over every river and mountain in America."
Such an unconquerable spirit receives its reward at last.
Lee did not leave Northcastle until the last of November. True, he ordered General Heath to a movement that he claimed would support Washington; but when General Heath found that Lee was not obeying the orders of the commander-in-chief, he refused to entertain his commands.
"I am amenable to the commander-in-chief, and cannot supply you with troops as you order," he said.
"In point oflawyou are right," said Lee, "but in point of policy I think you are wrong. I am going into the Jerseys for the salvation of America; I wish to take with me a larger force than I now have, and request you to order two thousand of your men to march with me."
"I cannot spare that number."
"Then order one thousand."
"No, not a thousand."
"How many, then?" continued Lee.
"Not one," answered Heath. "I may as well bring this matter to a point at once; not a single man will I furnish from this post byyourorder."
"Then," exclaimed Lee in an excited manner, "I will order them myself."
"That makes a wide difference," rejoined Heath. "You are my senior, but I have received positive written instructions from him who is superior to us both, and I will notmyselfbreak those orders. Read them."
He handed Washington's letter to Lee, in which he positively forbade the removal of any troops from that post.
"The commander-in-chief is now at a distance," said Lee, after reading the letter, "and he does not know what is necessary here as well as I do."
Turning to Major Huntington, Lee said authoritatively:
"You will order two regiments (designating the two) to march early to-morrow morning to join me."
General Heath was surprised and indignant at Lee's assumption of authority, and he said to the major, "Issue such orders at your peril!"
Then turning to Lee, he added:
"Sir, if you come to this post, and mean to issue orders here which will break the positive ones I have received I pray you do it completely yourself, and through your own deputy adjutant-general, who is present, and not draw me or any of my family in as partners in the guilt."
"It is right," answered Lee. "Colonel Scammel, do you issue the order."
"I have one more request to make," interrupted General Heath, "and that is, that you will be pleased to give me a certificate that youexercise commandat this post, and order from it these regiments."
Lee objected, but General George Clinton, who was present, said:
"That is a very reasonable request, General Lee, and surely you cannot refuse it."
Without replying, he immediately wrote the following:
"For the satisfaction of General Heath, and at his request, I do certify that I am commanding officer, at this present writing, in this post, and that I have, in that capacity, ordered Prescott's and Wyllis' regiments to march."
The next morning General Lee rode up to Heath's door, and said:
"Upon further consideration I have concluded not to take the two regiments with me. You may order them to return to their former post."
Evidently the ambitious and conceited general had come to the conclusion that "discretion is the better part of valor."
General Lee did not cross the Hudson until the 4th of December, moving snail-like, although he knew that Washington's army was in imminent peril.
"Do come on," Washington's last plea was; "your arrival may be fortunate, and, if it can be effected without delay, it may be the means of preserving a city whose loss must prove of the most fatal consequence to the cause of America."
The "city" referred to was Philadelphia. Washington had written to him that the enemy was designing to capture Philadelphia, a calamity that must be prevented if possible.
At this time Washington had removed the baggage and stores of his army across the Delaware. Being reinforced, however, by fifteen hundred Pennsylvania militia, he resolved to march back to Princeton and await developments. On his way he met General Stirling, who had evacuated Princeton, as Cornwallis was marching upon it with a large force. Returning to Trenton, he hastily collected all the boats possible, and conveyed his whole force over the Delaware, including General Stirling's command from Princeton. The rear-guard had scarcely crossed the river when Cornwallis appeared in the distance with his "bannered hosts." As Washington had taken possession of all the boats and transports, the enemy could not cross.
The tact and skill of Washington as a general were as conspicuous in hisretreat through the Jerseys as they were on any battlefield. Thomas Paine accompanied the army, and he wrote:
"With a handful of men we sustained an orderly retreat for near an hundred miles, brought off our ammunition, all our field-pieces, the greatest part of our stores, and had four rivers to pass. None can say that our retreat was precipitate, for we were three weeks in performing it, that the country might have time to come in. Twice we marched back to meet the enemy, and remained out until dark. The sign of fear was not seen in our camp; and had not some of the cowardly and disaffected inhabitants spread false alarms through the country, the Jerseys had never been ravaged."
On the 12th of December, General Lee had marched no farther than Vealtown, eight miles from Morristown. He continued to disregard Washington's appeals and instructions, receiving one almost every day. In some of them the commander-in-chief showed that his patience was well nigh exhausted.
"I am surprised that you should be in doubt about the route you are to take after my definite instructions," he wrote on the 11th of December.
"I have so frequently mentioned our situation, and the necessity of your aid, that it is painful for me to add a word on the subject," he wrote on the same day.
At Vealtown Lee left his troops in command of General Sullivan, and took up his own quarters at a "tavern" in Baskingridge, three miles off. He was very partial to "taverns" especially if well stocked with certain articles to please his palate.
On the next morning, about 11 o'clock, General Lee was writing at the table, and Major Wilkinson was looking out of the window. The latter arrived early in the morning with a letter from his commander, General Gates, and General Lee was replying to it.
"The British cavalry are upon us!" shouted Wilkinson in consternation.
"Where?" exclaimed Lee, springing from his chair.
"Right here, around the house," answered Wilkinson, who beheld a detachment of British cavalry surrounding the tavern.
"Where are the guards?" cried out Lee, in his surprise and horror. "Why don't they fire?"
It was a cold morning, and the guards had stacked their arms, and passed around to the south side of the house to sun themselves. They scarcely observed the enemy's presence until they heard the demand to surrender.
"If General Lee does not surrender in five minutes I will set fire to the house!"
At the same time the guards were chased in different directions. The demand for Lee to surrender was repeated, and he did surrender. Hastily he was put upon Wilkinson's horse, which stood at the door, and within three hours the enemy were exulting over him at Brunswick.
"No one to blame but himself," remarked Heath.
"Good enough for him," said many Americans.
General Sullivan was now in command, and he joined the commander-in-chief as soon as possible.
In Wilkinson's memoir it is said that Lee delayed so strangely in order to intercept the enemy in pursuit of Washington; and it is added:
"If General Lee had anticipated General Washington in cutting the cordon of the enemy between New York and the Delaware, the commander-in-chief would probably have been superseded. In this case Lee would have succeeded him."
Washington was too magnanimous to exult over the fall of Lee. Notwithstanding his knowledge of Lee's plans to supersede him, he wrote to his brother:
"Before you receive this letter, you will undoubtedly have heard of the capture of General Lee. This is an additional misfortune; and the more vexatious, as it was by his own folly and imprudence, and without a view to effect any good, that he was taken. As he went to lodge three miles out of his own camp, and within twenty miles of the enemy, a rascally Tory rode in the night to give notice of it to the enemy, who sent a party of light-horse, who seized him, and carried him off with every mark of triumph and indignity."