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diff --git a/old/12652.txt b/old/12652.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4fadf68 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12652.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11834 @@ +Project Gutenberg's George Washington, Vol. I, by Henry Cabot Lodge + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: George Washington, Vol. I + +Author: Henry Cabot Lodge + +Release Date: June 19, 2004 [EBook #12652] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE WASHINGTON, VOL. I *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tim Koeller and PG Distributed +Proofreaders + + + + + + +[Illustration: Frontispiece] + +American Statesmen + +STANDARD LIBRARY EDITION + + +[Illustration: _The Home of the Washington Family_] + + + * * * * * + + +GEORGE WASHINGTON + + BY + +HENRY CABOT LODGE + + IN TWO VOLUMES + VOL. I. + + 1889 + + + + +PREFACE + +This edition has been carefully revised, and although very little has +been added of late years to our knowledge of the facts of Washington's +life, I have tried to examine all that has appeared. The researches of +Mr. Waters, which were published just after these volumes in the first +edition had passed through the press, enable me to give the Washington +pedigree with certainty, and have turned conjecture into fact. The +recent publication in full of Lear's memoranda, although they tell +nothing new about Washington's last moments, help toward a completion +of all the details of the scene. + +H.C. LODGE. + +WASHINGTON, February 7, 1898. + + + * * * * * + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER. + + INTRODUCTION + I. THE OLD DOMINION + II. THE WASHINGTONS + III. ON THE FRONTIER + IV. LOVE AND MARRIAGE + V. TAKING COMMAND + VI. SAVING THE REVOLUTION + VII. "MALICE DOMESTIC, AND FOREIGN LEVY" + VIII. THE ALLIES + IX. ARNOLD'S TREASON, AND THE WAR IN THE SOUTH + X. YORKTOWN + XI. PEACE + + INDEX + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +GEORGE WASHINGTON + +From the painting by Gilbert Stuart in the Museum of Fine Arts, +Boston. This painting is owned by the Boston Athenaeum and is known as +the Athenaeum portrait. + +Autograph is from Washington's signature to a bill of exchange, from +"Talks about Autographs" by George Birkbeck Hill. + +The vignette of the residence of the Washington family is from "Homes +of American Statesman," published by Alfred W. Putnam, New York. + + +LAWRENCE WASHINGTON + +From an original painting in the possession of Lawrence Washington, +Esq., Alexandria, Va., a great-great-great-nephew. + +Autograph from MS. in New York Public Library, Lenox Building. + + +MISS MARY CARY + +From an original painting owned by Dr. James D. Moncure of Virginia, +one of her descendants. + +No autograph can be found. + + +MISS MARY PHILIPSE + +From Irving's "Washington," published by G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +Autograph from Appleton's "Cyclopaedia of American Biography." + + +WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE + +From the original painting by Emanuel Leutze in the New York +Metropolitan Museum. The United States flag shown in the picture is an +anachronism. The stars and stripes were first adopted by Congress in +June, 1777; and any flag carried by Washington's army in December, +1776, would have consisted of the stripes with the crosses of St. +George and St. Andrew in the blue field where the stars now appear. + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +February 9 in the year 1800 was a gala day in Paris. Napoleon had +decreed a triumphal procession, and on that day a splendid military +ceremony was performed in the Champ de Mars, and the trophies of the +Egyptian expedition were exultingly displayed. There were, however, +two features in all this pomp and show which seemed strangely out +of keeping with the glittering pageant and the sounds of victorious +rejoicing. The standards and flags of the army were hung with crape, +and after the grand parade the dignitaries of the land proceeded +solemnly to the Temple of Mars, and heard the eloquent M. de Fontanes +deliver an "Eloge Funebre."[1] + +[Footnote 1: A report recently discovered shows that more even was +intended than was actually done. + +The following is a translation of the paper, the original of which +is Nos. 172 and 173 of volume 51 of the manuscript series known as +_Etats-Unis_, 1799, 1800 (years 7 and 8 of the French republic):-- + + "_Report of Talleyrand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the + occasion of the death of George Washington_. + + "A nation which some day will he a great nation, and which today + is the wisest and happiest on the face of the earth, weeps at the + bier of a man whose courage and genius contributed the most to + free it from bondage, and elevate it to the rank of an independent + and sovereign power. The regrets caused by the death of this + great man, the memories aroused by these regrets, and a proper + veneration for all that is held dear and sacred by mankind, impel + us to give expression to our sentiments by taking part in an event + which deprives the world of one of its brightest ornaments, and + removes to the realm of history one of the noblest lives that ever + honored the human race. + + "The name of Washington is inseparably linked with a memorable + epoch. He adorned this epoch by his talents and the nobility of + his character, and with virtues that even envy dared not assail. + History offers few examples of such renown. Great from the outset + of his career, patriotic before his country had become a nation, + brilliant and universal despite the passions and political + resentments that would gladly have checked his career, his fame + is to-day imperishable,--fortune having consecrated his claim to + greatness, while the prosperity of a people destined for grand + achievements is the best evidence of a fame ever to increase. + + "His own country now honors his memory with funeral ceremonies, + having lost a citizen whose public actions and unassuming grandeur + in private life were a living example of courage, wisdom, and + unselfishness; and France, which from the dawn of the American + Revolution hailed with hope a nation, hitherto unknown, that was + discarding the vices of Europe, which foresaw all the glory that + this nation would bestow on humanity, and the enlightenment of + governments that would ensue from the novel character of the + social institutions and the new type of heroism of which + Washington and America were models for the world at + large,--France, I repeat, should depart from established usages + and do honor to one whose fame is beyond comparison with that of + others. + + "The man who, amid the decadence of modern ages, first dared + believe that he could inspire degenerate nations with courage to + rise to the level of republican virtues, lived for all nations and + for all centuries; and this nation, which first saw in the life + and success of that illustrious man a foreboding of its destiny, + and therein recognized a future to be realized and duties to be + performed, has every right to class him as a fellow-citizen. I + therefore submit to the First Consul the following decree:-- + "Bonaparte, First Consul of the republic, decrees as follows:-- + "Article 1. A statue is to be erected to General Washington. + "Article 2. This statue is to be placed in one of the squares of + Paris, to be chosen by the minister of the interior, and it shall + be his duty to execute the present decree."] + +About the same time, if tradition may be trusted, the flags upon the +conquering Channel fleet of England were lowered to half-mast in token +of grief for the same event which had caused the armies of France to +wear the customary badges of mourning. + +If some "traveler from an antique land" had observed these +manifestations, he would have wondered much whose memory it was that +had called them forth from these two great nations, then struggling +fiercely with each other for supremacy on land and sea. His wonder +would not have abated had he been told that the man for whom they +mourned had wrested an empire from one, and at the time of his death +was arming his countrymen against the other. + +These signal honors were paid by England and France to a simple +Virginian gentleman who had never left his own country, and who when +he died held no other office than the titular command of a provisional +army. Yet although these marks of respect from foreign nations were +notable and striking, they were slight and formal in comparison with +the silence and grief which fell upon the people of the United States +when they heard that Washington was dead. He had died in the fullness +of time, quietly, quickly, and in his own house, and yet his death +called out a display of grief which has rarely been equaled in +history. The trappings and suits of woe were there of course, but what +made this mourning memorable was that the land seemed hushed with +sadness, and that the sorrow dwelt among the people and was neither +forced nor fleeting. Men carried it home with them to their firesides +and to their churches, to their offices and their workshops. Every +preacher took the life which had closed as the noblest of texts, and +every orator made it the theme of his loftiest eloquence. For more +than a year the newspapers teemed with eulogy and elegy, and both +prose and poetry were severely taxed to pay tribute to the memory of +the great one who had gone. The prose was often stilted and the verse +was generally bad, but yet through it all, from the polished sentences +of the funeral oration to the humble effusions of the obscurest poet's +corner, there ran a strong and genuine feeling, which the highest art +could not refine nor the clumsiest expression degrade. + +From that time to this, the stream of praise has flowed on, ever +deepening and strengthening, both at home and abroad. Washington alone +in history seems to have risen so high in the estimation of men that +criticism has shrunk away abashed, and has only been heard whispering +in corners or growling hoarsely in the now famous house in Cheyne Row. + +There is a world of meaning in all this, could we but rightly +interpret it. It cannot be brushed aside as mere popular superstition, +formed of fancies and prejudices, to which intelligent opposition +would be useless. Nothing is in fact more false than the way in which +popular opinions are often belittled and made light of. The opinion +of the world, however reached, becomes in the course of years or +centuries the nearest approach we can make to final judgment on +human things. Don Quixote may be dumb to one man, and the sonnets of +Shakespeare may leave another cold and weary. But the fault is in +the reader. There is no doubt of the greatness of Cervantes or +Shakespeare, for they have stood the test of time, and the voices of +generations of men, from which there is no appeal, have declared them +to be great. The lyrics that all the world loves and repeats, the +poetry which is often called hackneyed, is on the whole the best +poetry. The pictures and statues that have drawn crowds of admiring +gazers for centuries are the best. The things that are "caviare to the +general" often undoubtedly have much merit, but they lack quite as +often the warm, generous, and immortal vitality which appeals alike to +rich and poor, to the ignorant and to the learned. + +So it is with men. When years after his death the world agrees to call +a man great, the verdict must be accepted. The historian may whiten or +blacken, the critic may weigh and dissect, the form of the judgment +may be altered, but the central fact remains, and with the man, whom +the world in its vague way has pronounced great, history must reckon +one way or the other, whether for good or ill. + +When we come to such a man as Washington, the case is still stronger. +Men seem to have agreed that here was greatness which no one could +question, and character which no one could fail to respect. Around +other leaders of men, even around the greatest of them, sharp +controversies have arisen, and they have their partisans dead as they +had them living. Washington had enemies who assailed him, and friends +whom he loved, but in death as in life he seems to stand alone, above +conflict and superior to malice. In his own country there is no +dispute as to his greatness or his worth. Englishmen, the most +unsparing censors of everything American, have paid homage to +Washington, from the days of Fox and Byron to those of Tennyson and +Gladstone. In France his name has always been revered, and in distant +lands those who have scarcely heard of the existence of the United +States know the country of Washington. To the mighty cairn which the +nation and the states have raised to his memory, stones have come +from Greece, sending a fragment of the Parthenon; from Brazil and +Switzerland, Turkey and Japan, Siam and India beyond the Ganges. On +that sent by China we read: "In devising plans, Washington was more +decided than Ching Shing or Woo Kwang; in winning a country he was +braver than Tsau Tsau or Ling Pi. Wielding his four-footed falchion, +he extended the frontiers and refused to accept the Royal Dignity. The +sentiments of the Three Dynasties have reappeared in him. Can any man +of ancient or modern times fail to pronounce Washington peerless?" +These comparisons so strange to our ears tell of a fame which has +reached farther than we can readily conceive. + +Washington stands as a type, and has stamped himself deep upon the +imagination of mankind. Whether the image be true or false is of no +consequence: the fact endures. He rises up from the dust of history as +a Greek statue comes pure and serene from the earth in which it has +lain for centuries. We know his deeds; but what was it in the man +which has given him such a place in the affection, the respect, and +the imagination of his fellow men throughout the world? + +Perhaps this question has been fully answered already. Possibly every +one who has thought upon the subject has solved the problem, so that +even to state it is superfluous. Yet a brilliant writer, the latest +historian of the American people, has said: "General Washington is +known to us, and President Washington. But George Washington is an +unknown man." These are pregnant words, and that they should be true +seems to make any attempt to fill the great gap an act of sheer and +hopeless audacity. Yet there can be certainly no reason for adding +another to the almost countless lives of Washington unless it be done +with the object in view which Mr. McMaster indicates. Any such attempt +may fail in execution, but if the purpose be right it has at least an +excuse for its existence. + +To try to add to the existing knowledge of the facts in Washington's +career would have but little result beyond the multiplication of +printed pages. The antiquarian, the historian, and the critic have +exhausted every source, and the most minute details have been and +still are the subject of endless writing and constant discussion. +Every house he ever lived in has been drawn and painted; every +portrait, and statue, and medal has been catalogued and engraved. His +private affairs, his servants, his horses, his arms, even his clothes, +have all passed beneath the merciless microscope of history. His +biography has been written and rewritten. His letters have been drawn +out from every lurking place, and have been given to the world in +masses and in detachments. His battles have been fought over and +over again, and his state papers have undergone an almost verbal +examination. Yet, despite his vast fame and all the labors of the +antiquarian and biographer, Washington is still not understood,--as a +man he is unfamiliar to the posterity that reverences his memory. He +has been misrepresented more or less covertly by hostile critics and +by candid friends, and has been disguised and hidden away by the +mistaken eulogy and erroneous theories of devout admirers. All that +any one now can do, therefore, is to endeavor from this mass of +material to depict the very man himself in the various conjunctures of +his life, and strive to see what he really was and what he meant then, +and what he is and what he means to us and to the world to-day. + +In the progress of time Washington has become in the popular +imagination largely mythical; for mythical ideas grow up in this +nineteenth century, notwithstanding its boasted intelligence, much as +they did in the infancy of the race. The old sentiment of humanity, +more ancient and more lasting than any records or monuments, which led +men in the dawn of history to worship their ancestors and the founders +of states, still endures. As the centuries have gone by, this +sentiment has lost its religious flavor, and has become more and +more restricted in its application, but it has never been wholly +extinguished. Let some man arise great above the ordinary bounds of +greatness, and the feeling which caused our progenitors to bow down +at the shrines of their forefathers and chiefs leads us to invest +our modern hero with a mythical character, and picture him in our +imagination as a being to whom, a few thousand years ago, altars would +have been builded and libations poured out. + +Thus we have to-day in our minds a Washington grand, solemn, and +impressive. In this guise he appears as a man of lofty intellect, vast +moral force, supremely successful and fortunate, and wholly apart +from and above all his fellow-men. This lonely figure rises up to our +imagination with all the imperial splendor of the Livian Augustus, and +with about as much warmth and life as that unrivaled statue. In this +vague but quite serious idea there is a great deal of truth, but +not the whole truth. It is the myth of genuine love and veneration +springing from the inborn gratitude of man to the founders and chiefs +of his race, but it is not by any means the only one of its family. +There is another, equally diffused, of wholly different parentage. +In its inception this second myth is due to the itinerant parson, +bookmaker, and bookseller, Mason Weems. He wrote a brief biography of +Washington, of trifling historical value, yet with sufficient literary +skill to make it widely popular. It neither appealed to nor was read +by the cultivated and instructed few, but it reached the homes of the +masses of the people. It found its way to the bench of the mechanic, +to the house of the farmer, to the log cabins of the frontiersman and +pioneer. It was carried across the continent on the first waves of +advancing settlement. Its anecdotes and its simplicity of thought +commended it to children both at home and at school, and, passing +through edition after edition, its statements were widely spread, and +it colored insensibly the ideas of hundreds of persons who never had +heard even the name of the author. To Weems we owe the anecdote of the +cherry-tree, and other tales of a similar nature. He wrote with Dr. +Beattie's life of his son before him as a model, and the result is +that Washington comes out in his pages a faultless prig. Whether Weems +intended it or not, that is the result which he produced, and that is +the Washington who was developed from the wide sale of his book. When +this idea took definite and permanent shape it caused a reaction. +There was a revolt against it, for the hero thus engendered had +qualities which the national sense of humor could not endure in +silence. The consequence is, that the Washington of Weems has afforded +an endless theme for joke and burlesque. Every professional American +humorist almost has tried his hand at it; and with each recurring 22d +of February the hard-worked jesters of the daily newspapers take it +up and make a little fun out of it, sufficient for the day that is +passing over them. The opportunity is tempting, because of the ease +with which fun can be made when that fundamental source of humor, a +violent contrast, can be employed. But there is no irreverence in it +all, for the jest is not aimed at the real Washington, but at the +Washington portrayed in the Weems biography. The worthy "rector of +Mount Vernon," as he called himself, meant no harm, and there is a +good deal of truth, no doubt, in his book. But the blameless and +priggish boy, and the equally faultless and uninteresting man, whom he +originated, have become in the process of development a myth. So in +its further development is the Washington of the humorist a myth. +Both alike are utterly and crudely false. They resemble their great +original as much as Greenough's classically nude statue, exposed to +the incongruities of the North American climate, resembles in dress +and appearance the general of our armies and the first President of +the United States. + +Such are the myth-makers. They are widely different from the critics +who have assailed Washington in a sidelong way, and who can be better +dealt with in a later chapter. These last bring charges which can be +met; the myth-maker presents a vague conception, extremely difficult +to handle because it is so elusive. + +One of our well-known historical scholars and most learned +antiquarians, not long ago, in an essay vindicating the "traditional +Washington," treated with scorn the idea of a "new Washington" being +discovered. In one sense this is quite right, in another totally +wrong. There can be no new Washington discovered, because there never +was but one. But the real man has been so overlaid with myths and +traditions, and so distorted by misleading criticisms, that, as +has already been suggested, he has been wellnigh lost. We have +the religious or statuesque myth, we have the Weems myth, and the +ludicrous myth of the writer of paragraphs. We have the stately hero +of Sparks, and Everett, and Marshall, and Irving, with all his great +deeds as general and president duly recorded and set down in polished +and eloquent sentences; and we know him to be very great and wise and +pure, and, be it said with bated breath, very dry and cold. We are +also familiar with the common-place man who so wonderfully illustrated +the power of character as set forth by various persons, either from +love of novelty or because the great chief seemed to get in the way of +their own heroes. + +If this is all, then the career of Washington and his towering fame +present a problem of which the world has never seen the like. But this +cannot be all: there must be more behind. Every one knows the famous +Stuart portrait of Washington. The last effort of the artist's cunning +is there employed to paint his great subject for posterity. How serene +and beautiful it is! It is a noble picture for future ages to look +upon. Still it is not all. There is in the dining-room of Memorial +Hall at Cambridge another portrait, painted by Savage. It is cold and +dry, hard enough to serve for the signboard of an inn, and able, one +would think, to withstand all weathers. Yet this picture has something +which Stuart left out. There is a rugged strength in the face which +gives us pause, there is a massiveness in the jaw, telling of an iron +grip and a relentless will, which has infinite meaning. + + "Here's John the Smith's rough-hammered head. Great eye, + Gross jaw, and griped lips do what granite can + To give you the crown-grasper. What a man!" + +In death as in life, there is something about Washington, call it +greatness, dignity, majesty, what you will, which seems to hold men +aloof and keep them from knowing him. In truth he was a most difficult +man to know. Carlyle, crying out through hundreds of pages and myriads +of words for the "silent man," passed by with a sneer the most +absolutely silent great man that history can show. Washington's +letters and speeches and messages fill many volumes, but they are all +on business. They are profoundly silent as to the writer himself. From +this Carlyle concluded apparently that there was nothing to tell,--a +very shallow conclusion if it was the one he really reached. Such an +idea was certainly far, very far, from the truth. + +Behind the popular myths, behind the statuesque figure of the orator +and the preacher, behind the general and the president of the +historian, there was a strong, vigorous man, in whose veins ran warm, +red blood, in whose heart were stormy passions and deep sympathy for +humanity, in whose brain were far-reaching thoughts, and who was +informed throughout his being with a resistless will. The veil of his +silence is not often lifted, and never intentionally, but now and then +there is a glimpse behind it; and in stray sentences and in little +incidents strenuously gathered together; above all, in the right +interpretation of the words, and the deeds, and the true history known +to all men,--we can surely find George Washington "the noblest figure +that ever stood in the forefront of a nation's life." + + + * * * * * + + +GEORGE WASHINGTON + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE OLD DOMINION + + +To know George Washington, we must first of all understand the society +in which he was born and brought up. As certain lilies draw their +colors from the subtle qualities of the soil hidden beneath the water +upon which they float, so are men profoundly affected by the obscure +and insensible influences which surround their childhood and youth. +The art of the chemist may discover perhaps the secret agent which +tints the white flower with blue or pink, but very often the elements, +which analysis detects, nature alone can combine. The analogy is +not strained or fanciful when we apply it to a past society. We can +separate, and classify, and label the various elements, but to combine +them in such a way as to form a vivid picture is a work of surpassing +difficulty. This is especially true of such a land as Virginia in the +middle of the last century. Virginian society, as it existed at that +period, is utterly extinct. John Randolph said it had departed before +the year 1800. Since then another century, with all its manifold +changes, has wellnigh come and gone. Most important of all, the last +surviving institution of colonial Virginia has been swept away in the +crash of civil war, which has opened a gulf between past and present +wider and deeper than any that time alone could make. + +Life and society as they existed in the Virginia of the eighteenth +century seem, moreover, to have been sharply broken and ended. We +cannot trace our steps backward, as is possible in most cases, over +the road by which the world has traveled since those days. We are +compelled to take a long leap mentally in order to land ourselves +securely in the Virginia which honored the second George, and looked +up to Walpole and Pitt as the arbiters of its fate. + +We live in a period of great cities, rapid communication, vast and +varied business interests, enormous diversity of occupation, great +industries, diffused intelligence, farming by steam, and with +everything and everybody pervaded by an unresting, high-strung +activity. We transport ourselves to the Virginia of Washington's +boyhood, and find a people without cities or towns, with no means +of communication except what was afforded by rivers and wood roads; +having no trades, no industries, no means of spreading knowledge, only +one occupation, clumsily performed; and living a quiet, monotonous +existence, which can now hardly be realized. It is "a far cry to +Loch-Awe," as the Scotch proverb has it; and this old Virginian +society, although we should find it sorry work living in it, is both +pleasant and picturesque in the pages of history. + +The population of Virginia, advancing toward half a million, and +divided pretty equally between the free whites and the enslaved +blacks, was densest, to use a most inappropriate word, at the water's +edge and near the mouths of the rivers. Thence it crept backwards, +following always the lines of the watercourses, and growing ever +thinner and more scattered until it reached the Blue Ridge. Behind +the mountains was the wilderness, haunted, as old John Lederer said a +century earlier, by monsters, and inhabited, as the eighteenth-century +Virginians very well knew, by savages and wild beasts, much more real +and dangerous than the hobgoblins of their ancestors. + +The population, in proportion to its numbers, was very widely +distributed. It was not collected in groups, after the fashion with +which we are now familiar, for then there were no cities or towns +in Virginia. The only place which could pretend to either name was +Norfolk, the solitary seaport, which, with its six or seven thousand +inhabitants, formed the most glaring exception that any rule +solicitous of proof could possibly desire. Williamsburg, the capital, +was a straggling village, somewhat overweighted with the public +buildings and those of the college. It would light up into life and +vivacity during the season of politics and society, and then relapse +again into the country stillness. Outside of Williamsburg and Norfolk +there were various points which passed in the catalogue and on the map +for towns, but which in reality were merely the shadows of a name. The +most populous consisted of a few houses inhabited by storekeepers and +traders, some tobacco warehouses, and a tavern, clustered about the +church or court-house. Many others had only the church, or, if a +county seat, the church and court-house, keeping solitary state in the +woods. There once a week the sound of prayer and gossip, or at longer +intervals the voices of lawyers and politicians, and the shouts of the +wrestlers on the green, broke through the stillness which with the +going down of the sun resumed its sway in the forests. + +There was little chance here for that friction of mind with mind, or +for that quick interchange of thought and sentiment and knowledge +which are familiar to the dwellers in cities, and which have driven +forward more rapidly than all else what we call civilization. Rare +meetings for special objects with persons as solitary in their lives +and as ill-informed as himself, constituted to the average Virginian +the world of society, and there was nothing from outside to supply the +deficiencies at home. Once a fortnight a mail crawled down from +the North, and once a month another crept on to the South. George +Washington was four years old when the first newspaper was published +in the colony, and he was twenty when the first actors appeared at +Williamsburg. What was not brought was not sought. The Virginians did +not go down to the sea in ships. They were not a seafaring race, and +as they had neither trade nor commerce they were totally destitute of +the inquiring, enterprising spirit, and of the knowledge brought +by those pursuits which involve travel and adventure. The English +tobacco-ships worked their way up the rivers, taking the great staple, +and leaving their varied goods, and their tardy news from Europe, +wherever they stopped. This was the sum of the information and +intercourse which Virginia got from across the sea, for travelers were +practically unknown. Few came on business, fewer still from curiosity. +Stray peddlers from the North, or trappers from beyond the mountains +with their packs of furs, chiefly constituted what would now be called +the traveling public. There were in truth no means of traveling except +on foot, on horseback, or by boat on the rivers, which formed the +best and most expeditious highways. Stage-coaches, or other public +conveyances, were unknown. Over some of the roads the rich man, with +his six horses and black outriders, might make his way in a lumbering +carriage, but most of the roads were little better than woodland +paths; and the rivers, innocent of bridges, offered in the uncertain +fords abundance of inconvenience, not unmixed with peril. The taverns +were execrable, and only the ever-ready hospitality of the people +made it possible to get from place to place. The result was that the +Virginians stayed at home, and sought and welcomed the rare stranger +at their gates as if they were well aware that they were entertaining +angels. + +It is not difficult to sift this home-keeping people, and find out +that portion which was Virginia, for the mass was but an appendage +of the small fraction which ruled, led, and did the thinking for the +whole community. Half the people were slaves, and in that single +wretched word their history is told. They were, on the whole, well +and kindly treated, but they have no meaning in history except as an +institution, and as an influence in the lives, feelings, and character +of the men who made the state. + +Above the slaves, little better than they in condition, but separated +from them by the wide gulf of race and color, were the indented white +servants, some convicts, some redemptioners. They, too, have their +story told when we have catalogued them. We cross another gulf and +come to the farmers, to the men who grew wheat as well as tobacco on +their own land, sometimes working alone, sometimes the owners of a few +slaves. Some of these men were of the class well known since as the +"poor whites" of the South, the weaker brothers who could not resist +the poison of slavery, but sank under it into ignorance and poverty. +They were contented because their skins were white, and because they +were thereby part of an aristocracy to whom labor was a badge of +serfdom. The larger portion of this middle class, however, were +thrifty and industrious enough. Including as they did in their ranks +the hunters and pioneers, the traders and merchants, all the freemen +in fact who toiled and worked, they formed the mass of the white +population, and furnished the bone and sinew and some of the +intellectual power of Virginia. The only professional men were the +clergy, for the lawyers were few, and growing to importance only as +the Revolution began; while the physicians were still fewer, and as a +class of no importance at all. The clergy were a picturesque +element in the social landscape, but they were as a body very poor +representatives of learning, religion, and morality. They ranged from +hedge parsons and Fleet chaplains, who had slunk away from England +to find a desirable obscurity in the new world, to divines of real +learning and genuine piety, who were the supporters of the college, +and who would have been a credit to any society. These last, however, +were lamentably few in number. The mass of the clergy were men who +worked their own lands, sold tobacco, were the boon companions of the +planters, hunted, shot, drank hard, and lived well, performing their +sacred duties in a perfunctory and not always in a decent manner. + +The clergy, however, formed the stepping-stone socially between +the farmers, traders, and small planters, and the highest and most +important class in Virginian society. The great planters were the +men who owned, ruled, and guided Virginia. Their vast estates were +scattered along the rivers from the seacoast to the mountains. Each +plantation was in itself a small village, with the owner's house in +the centre, surrounded by outbuildings and negro cabins, and the +pastures, meadows, and fields of tobacco stretching away on all sides. +The rare traveler, pursuing his devious way on horseback or in a boat, +would catch sight of these noble estates opening up from the road or +the river, and then the forest would close in around him for several +miles, until through the thinning trees he would see again the white +cabins and the cleared fields of the next plantation. + +In such places dwelt the Virginian planters, surrounded by their +families and slaves, and in a solitude broken only by the infrequent +and eagerly welcomed stranger, by their duties as vestrymen and +magistrates, or by the annual pilgrimage to Williamsburg in search of +society, or to sit in the House of Burgesses. They were occupied by +the care of their plantations, which involved a good deal of riding in +the open air, but which was at best an easy and indolent pursuit made +light by slave labor and trained overseers. As a result the planters +had an abundance of spare time, which they devoted to cock-fighting, +horse-racing, fishing, shooting, and fox-hunting,--all, save the +first, wholesome and manly sports, but which did not demand any undue +mental strain. There is, indeed, no indication that the Virginians +had any great love for intellectual exertion. When the amiable +attorney-general of Charles II. said to the Virginian commissioners, +pleading the cause of learning and religion, "Damn your souls! grow +tobacco!" he uttered a precept which the mass of the planters seem to +have laid to heart. For fifty years there were no schools, and down to +the Revolution even the apologies bearing that honored name were +few, and the college was small and struggling. In some of the great +families, the eldest sons would be sent to England and to the great +universities: they would make the grand tour, play a part in the +fashionable society of London, and come back to their plantations fine +gentlemen and scholars. Such was Colonel Byrd, in the early part of +the eighteenth century, a friend of the Earl of Orrery, and the author +of certain amusing memoirs. Such at a later day was Arthur Lee, +doctor and diplomat, student and politician. But most of these young +gentlemen thus sent abroad to improve their minds and manners led a +life not materially different from that of our charming friend, Harry +Warrington, after his arrival in England. + +The sons who stayed at home sometimes gathered a little learning from +the clergyman of the parish, or received a fair education at the +College of William and Mary, but very many did not have even so much +as this. There was not in truth much use for learning in managing a +plantation or raising horses, and men get along surprisingly well +without that which they do not need, especially if the acquisition +demands labor. The Virginian planter thought little and read less, +and there were no learned professions to hold out golden prizes and +stimulate the love of knowledge. The women fared even worse, for +they could not go to Europe or to William and Mary's, so that after +exhausting the teaching capacity of the parson they settled down to a +round of household duties and to the cares of a multitude of slaves, +working much harder and more steadily than their lords and masters +ever thought of doing. + +The only general form of intellectual exertion was that of governing. +The planters managed local affairs through the vestries, and ruled +Virginia in the House of Burgesses. To this work they paid strict +attention, and, after the fashion of their race, did it very well and +very efficiently. They were an extremely competent body whenever they +made up their minds to do anything; but they liked the life and habits +of Squire Western, and saw no reason for adopting any others until it +was necessary. + +There were, of course, vast differences in the condition of the +planters. Some counted their acres by thousands and their slaves by +hundreds, while others scrambled along as best they might with one +plantation and a few score of negroes. Some dwelt in very handsome +houses, picturesque and beautiful, like Gunston Hall or Stratford, or +in vast, tasteless, and extravagant piles like Rosewell. Others were +contented with very modest houses, consisting of one story with a +gabled roof, and flanked by two massive chimneys. In some houses there +was a brave show of handsome plate and china, fine furniture, and +London-made carriages, rich silks and satins, and brocaded dresses. +In others there were earthenware and pewter, homespun and woolen, and +little use for horses, except in the plough or under the saddle. + +But there were certain qualities common to all the Virginia planters. +The luxury was imperfect. The splendor was sometimes barbaric. There +were holes in the brocades, and the fresh air of heaven would often +blow through a broken window upon the glittering silver and the costly +china. It was an easy-going aristocracy, unfinished, and frequently +slovenly in its appointments, after the fashion of the warmer climates +and the regions of slavery. + +Everything was plentiful except ready money. In this rich and poor +were alike. They were all ahead of their income, and it seems as if, +from one cause or another, from extravagance or improvidence, from +horses or the gaming-table, every Virginian family went through +bankruptcy about once in a generation. + +When Harry Warrington arrived in England, all his relations at +Castlewood regarded the handsome young fellow as a prince, with his +acres and his slaves. It was a natural and pleasing delusion, born of +the possession of land and serfs, to which the Virginians themselves +gave ready credence. They forgot that the land was so plentiful that +it was of little value; that slaves were the most wasteful form of +labor; and that a failure of the tobacco crop, pledged before it was +gathered, meant ruin, although they had been reminded more than once +of this last impressive fact. They knew that they had plenty to eat +and drink, and a herd of people to wait upon them and cultivate their +land, as well as obliging London merchants always ready to furnish +every luxury in return for the mortgage of a crop or an estate. So +they gave themselves little anxiety as to the future and lived in the +present, very much to their own satisfaction. + +To the communities of trade and commerce, to the mercantile and +industrial spirit of to-day, such an existence and such modes of life +appear distressingly lax and unprogressive. The sages of the bank +parlors and the counting-rooms would shake their heads at such +spendthrifts as these, refuse to discount their paper, and confidently +predict that by no possibility could they come to good. They had their +defects, no doubt, these planters and farmers of Virginia. The life +they led was strongly developed on the animal side, and was perhaps +neither stimulating nor elevating. The living was the reverse of +plain, and the thinking was neither extremely high nor notably +laborious. Yet in this very particular there is something rather +restful and pleasant to the eye wearied by the sight of incessant +movement, and to the ear deafened by the continual shout that nothing +is good that does not change, and that all change must be good. We +should probably find great discomforts and many unpleasant limitations +in the life and habits of a hundred years ago on any part of the +globe, and yet at a time when it seems as if rapidity and movement +were the last words and the ultimate ideals of civilization, it is +rather agreeable to turn to such a community as the eighteenth-century +planters of Virginia. They lived contentedly on the acres of their +fathers, and except at rare and stated intervals they had no other +interests than those furnished by their ancestral domain. At the +court-house, at the vestry, or in Williamsburg, they met their +neighbors and talked very keenly about the politics of Europe, or the +affairs of the colony. They were little troubled about religion, but +they worshiped after the fashion of their fathers, and had a serious +fidelity to church and king. They wrangled with their governors over +appropriations, but they lived on good terms with those eminent +persons, and attended state balls at what they called the palace, and +danced and made merry with much stateliness and grace. Their every-day +life ran on in the quiet of their plantations as calmly as one of +their own rivers. The English trader would come and go; the infrequent +stranger would be received and welcomed; Christmas would be kept in +hearty English fashion; young men from a neighboring estate would +ride over through the darkening woods to court, or dance, or play +the fiddle, like Patrick Henry or Thomas Jefferson; and these simple +events were all that made a ripple on the placid stream. Much time was +given to sports, rough, hearty, manly sports, with a spice of danger, +and these, with an occasional adventurous dash into the wilderness, +kept them sound and strong and brave, both in body and mind. There was +nothing languid or effeminate about the Virginian planter. He was a +robust man, quite ready to fight or work when the time came, and well +fitted to deal with affairs when he was needed. He was a free-handed, +hospitable, generous being, not much given to study or thought, but +thoroughly public-spirited and keenly alive to the interests of +Virginia. Above all things he was an aristocrat, set apart by the +dark line of race, color, and hereditary servitude, as proud as the +proudest Austrian with his endless quarterings, as sturdy and vigorous +as an English yeoman, and as jealous of his rights and privileges +as any baron who stood by John at Runnymede. To this aristocracy, +careless and indolent, given to rough pleasures and indifferent to the +finer and higher sides of life, the call came, as it comes to all men +sooner or later, and in response they gave their country soldiers, +statesmen, and jurists of the highest order, and fit for the great +work they were asked to do. We must go back to Athens to find another +instance of a society so small in numbers, and yet capable of such an +outburst of ability and force. They were of sound English stock, with +a slight admixture of the Huguenots, the best blood of France; and +although for a century and a half they had seemed to stagnate in +the New World, they were strong, fruitful, and effective beyond the +measure of ordinary races when the hour of peril and trial was at +hand. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE WASHINGTONS + + +Such was the world and such the community which counted as a small +fraction the Washington family. Our immediate concern is with that +family, for before we approach the man we must know his ancestors. The +greatest leader of scientific thought in this century has come to +the aid of the genealogist, and given to the results of the latter's +somewhat discredited labors a vitality and meaning which it seemed +impossible that dry and dusty pedigrees and barren tables of descent +should ever possess. We have always selected our race-horses according +to the doctrines of evolution, and we now study the character of a +great man by examining first the history of his forefathers. + +Washington made so great an impression upon the world in his lifetime +that genealogists at once undertook for him the construction of a +suitable pedigree. The excellent Sir Isaac Heard, garter king-at-arms, +worked out a genealogy which seemed reasonable enough, and then wrote +to the president in relation to it. Washington in reply thanked him +for his politeness, sent him the Virginian genealogy of his own +branch, and after expressing a courteous interest said, in his simple +and direct fashion, that he had been a busy man and had paid but +little attention to the subject. His knowledge about his English +forefathers was in fact extremely slight. He had heard merely that +the first of the name in Virginia had come from one of the northern +counties of England, but whether from Lancashire or Yorkshire, or one +still more northerly, he could not tell. Sir Isaac was not thoroughly +satisfied with the correctness of his own work, but presently Baker +took it up in his history of Northamptonshire, and perfected it to +his own satisfaction and that of the world in general. This genealogy +derived Washington's descent from the owners of the manor of Sulgrave, +in Northamptonshire, and thence carried it back to the Norman knight, +Sir William de Hertburn. According to this pedigree the Virginian +settlers, John and Lawrence, were the sons of Lawrence Washington of +Sulgrave Manor, and this genealogy was adopted by Sparks and Irving, +as well as by the public at large. Twenty years ago, however, Colonel +Chester, by his researches, broke the most essential link in the chain +forged by Heard and Baker, proving clearly that the Virginian settlers +could not have been the sons of Lawrence of Sulgrave, as identified by +the garter king-at-arms. Still more recently the mythical spirit has +taken violent possession of the Washington ancestry, and an ingenious +gentleman has traced the pedigree of our first president back to +Thorfinn and thence to Odin, which is sufficiently remote, dignified, +and lofty to satisfy the most exacting Welshman that ever lived. Still +the breach made by Colonel Chester was not repaired, although many +writers, including some who should have known better, clung with +undiminished faith to the Heard pedigree. It was known that Colonel +Chester himself believed that he had found the true line, coming, it +is supposed, through a younger branch of the Sulgrave race, but he +died before he had discovered the one bit of evidence necessary to +prove an essential step, and he was too conscientiously accurate to +leave anything to conjecture. Since then the researches of Mr. Henry +E. Waters have established the pedigree of the Virginian Washingtons, +and we are now able to know something of the men from whom George +Washington drew his descent. + +In that interesting land where everything, according to our narrow +ideas, is upside down, it is customary, when an individual arrives at +distinction, to confer nobility upon his ancestors instead of upon +his children. The Washingtons offer an interesting example of the +application of this Chinese system in the Western world, for, if they +have not been actually ennobled in recognition of the deeds of their +great descendant, they have at least become the subjects of intense +and general interest. Every one of the name who could be discovered +anywhere has been dragged forth into the light, and has had all that +was known about him duly recorded and set down. By scanning family +trees and pedigrees, and picking up stray bits of information here and +there, we can learn in a rude and general fashion what manner of men +those were who claimed descent from William of Hertburn, and who bore +the name of Washington in the mother-country. As Mr. Galton passes +a hundred faces before the same highly sensitized plate, and gets a +photograph which is a likeness of no one of his subjects, and yet +resembles them all, so we may turn the camera of history upon these +Washingtons, as they flash up for a moment from the dim past, and hope +to obtain what Professor Huxley calls a "generic" picture of the race, +even if the outlines be somewhat blurred and indistinct. + +In the North of England, in the region conquered first by Saxons and +then by Danes, lies the little village of Washington. It came into the +possession of Sir William de Hertburn, and belonged to him at the time +of the Boldon Book in 1183. Soon after, he or his descendants took +the name of De Wessyngton, and there they remained for two centuries, +knights of the palatinate, holding their lands by a military tenure, +fighting in all the wars, and taking part in tournaments with becoming +splendor. By the beginning of the fifteenth century the line of feudal +knights of the palatinate was extinct, and the manor passed from the +family by the marriage of Dionisia de Wessyngton. But the main stock +had in the mean time thrown out many offshoots, which had taken firm +root in other parts and in many counties of England. We hear of +several who came in various ways to eminence. There was the learned +and vigorous prior of Durham, John de Wessyngton, probably one of the +original family, and the name appears in various places after his time +in records and on monuments, indicating a flourishing and increasing +race. Lawrence Washington, the direct ancestor of the first President +of the United States, was, in the sixteenth century, the mayor of +Northampton, and received from King Henry VIII. the manor of Sulgrave +in 1538. In the next century we find traces of Robert Washington of +the Adwick family, a rich merchant of Leeds, and of his son Joseph +Washington, a learned lawyer and author, of Gray's Inn. About the same +time we hear of Richard Washington and Philip Washington holding high +places at University College, Oxford. The Sulgrave branch, however, +was the most numerous and prosperous. From the mayor of Northampton +were descended Sir William Washington, who married the half-sister of +George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham; Sir Henry Washington, who made a +desperate defense of Worcester against the forces of the Parliament in +1646; Lieutenant-Colonel James Washington, who fell at the siege of +Pontefract, fighting for King Charles; another James, of a later time, +who was implicated in Monmouth's rebellion, fled to Holland and became +the progenitor of a flourishing and successful family, which has +spread to Germany and there been ennobled; Sir Lawrence Washington, of +Garsdon, whose grand-daughter married Robert Shirley, Baron Ferrers; +and others of less note, but all men of property and standing. They +seem to have been a successful, thrifty race, owning lands and +estates, wise magistrates and good soldiers, marrying well, and +increasing their wealth and strength from generation to generation. +They were of Norman stock, knights and gentlemen in the full sense of +the word before the French Revolution, and we can detect in them here +and there a marked strain of the old Norse blood, carrying with it +across the centuries the wild Berserker spirit which for centuries +made the adventurous Northmen the terror of Europe. They were a strong +race evidently, these Washingtons, whom we see now only by glimpses +through the mists of time, not brilliant apparently, never winning the +very highest fortune, having their failures and reverses no doubt, +but on the whole prudent, bold men, always important in their several +stations, ready to fight and ready to work, and as a rule successful +in that which they set themselves to do. + +In 1658 the two brothers, John and Lawrence, appeared in Virginia. As +has been proved by Mr. Waters, they were of the Sulgrave family, +the sons of Lawrence Washington, fifth son of the elder Lawrence of +Sulgrave and Brington. The father of the emigrants was a fellow of +Brasenose College, Oxford, and rector of Purleigh, from which living +he was ejected by the Puritans as both "scandalous" and "malignant." +That he was guilty of the former charge we may well doubt; but that he +was, in the language of the time, "malignant," must be admitted, for +all his family, including his brothers, Sir William Washington of +Packington, and Sir John Washington of Thrapston, his nephew, Sir +Henry Washington, and his nephew-in-law, William Legge, ancestor of +the Earl of Dartmouth, were strongly on the side of the king. In a +marriage which seems to have been regarded as beneath the dignity of +the family, and in the poverty consequent upon the ejectment from +his living, we can find the reason for the sons of the Rev. Lawrence +Washington going forth into Virginia to find their fortune, and flying +from the world of victorious Puritanism which offered just then so +little hope to royalists like themselves. Yet what was poverty in +England was something much more agreeable in the New World of America. +The emigrant brothers at all events seem to have had resources of a +sufficient kind, and to have been men of substance, for they purchased +lands and established themselves at Bridges Creek, in Westmoreland +County. With this brief statement, Lawrence disappears, leaving us +nothing further than the knowledge that he had numerous descendants. +John, with whom we are more concerned, figures at once in the colonial +records of Maryland. He made complaint to the Maryland authorities, +soon after his arrival, against Edward Prescott, merchant, and captain +of the ship in which he had come over, for hanging a woman during the +voyage for witchcraft. We have a letter of his, explaining that he +could not appear at the first trial because he was about to baptize +his son, and had bidden the neighbors and gossips to the feast. A +little incident this, dug out of the musty records, but it shows us an +active, generous man, intolerant of oppression, public-spirited and +hospitable, social, and friendly in his new relations. He soon after +was called to mourn the death of his English wife and of two children, +but he speedily consoled himself by taking a second wife, Anne Pope, +by whom he had three children, Lawrence, John, and Anne. According to +the Virginian tradition, John Washington the elder was a surveyor, and +made a location of lands which was set aside because they had been +assigned to the Indians. It is quite apparent that he was a forehanded +person who acquired property and impressed himself upon his neighbors. +In 1667, when he had been but ten years in the colony, he was chosen +to the House of Burgesses; and eight years later he was made a colonel +and sent with a thousand men to join the Marylanders in destroying +the "Susquehannocks," at the "Piscataway" fort, on account of some +murdering begun by another tribe. As a feat of arms, the expedition +was not a very brilliant affair. The Virginians and Marylanders killed +half a dozen Indian chiefs during a parley, and then invested the +fort. After repulsing several sorties, they stupidly allowed the +Indians to escape in the night and carry murder and pillage through +the outlying settlements, lighting up first the flames of savage war +and then the fiercer fire of domestic insurrection. In the next year +we hear again of John Washington in the House of Burgesses, when Sir +William Berkeley assailed his troops for the murder of the Indians +during the parley. Popular feeling, however, was clearly with the +colonel, for nothing was done and the matter dropped. At that point, +too, in 1676, John Washington disappears from sight, and we know only +that as his will was proved in 1677, he must have died soon after the +scene with Berkeley. He was buried in the family vault at Bridges +Creek, and left a good estate to be divided among his children. The +colonel was evidently both a prudent and popular man, and quite +disposed to bustle about in the world in which he found himself. He +acquired lands, came to the front at once as a leader although a +new-comer in the country, was evidently a fighting man as is shown by +his selection to command the Virginian forces, and was honored by his +neighbors, who gave his name to the parish in which he dwelt. Then +he died and his son Lawrence reigned in his stead, and became by his +wife, Mildred Warner, the father of John, Augustine, and Mildred +Washington. + +This second son, Augustine, farmer and planter like his forefathers, +married first Jane Butler, by whom he had three sons and a daughter, +and second, Mary Ball, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. The +eldest child of these second nuptials was named George, and was born +on February 11 (O.S.), 1732, at Bridges Creek. The house in which +this event occurred was a plain, wooden farmhouse of the primitive +Virginian pattern, with four rooms on the ground floor, an attic story +with a long, sloping roof, and a massive brick chimney. Three years +after George Washington's birth it is said to have been burned, and +the family for this or some other reason removed to another estate in +what is now Stafford County. The second house was like the first, and +stood on rising ground looking across a meadow to the Rappahannock, +and beyond the river to the village of Fredericksburg, which was +nearly opposite. Here, in 1743, Augustine Washington died somewhat +suddenly, at the age of forty-nine, from an attack of gout brought on +by exposure in the rain, and was buried with his fathers in the old +vault at Bridges Creek. Here, too, the boyhood of Washington was +passed, and therefore it becomes necessary to look about us and see +what we can learn of this important period of his life. + +We know nothing about his father, except that he was kindly and +affectionate, attached to his wife and children, and apparently +absorbed in the care of his estates. On his death the children came +wholly under the maternal influence and direction. Much has been +written about the "mother of Washington," but as a matter of fact, +although she lived to an advanced age, we know scarcely more about her +than we do about her husband. She was of gentle birth, and possessed +a vigorous character and a good deal of business capacity. The +advantages of education were given in but slight measure to the +Virginian ladies of her time, and Mrs. Washington offered no exception +to the general rule. Her reading was confined to a small number of +volumes, chiefly of a devotional character, her favorite apparently +being Hale's "Moral and Divine Contemplations." She evidently knew no +language but her own, and her spelling was extremely bad even in that +age of uncertain orthography. Certain qualities, however, are clear to +us even now through all the dimness. We can see that Mary Washington +was gifted with strong sense, and had the power of conducting business +matters providently and exactly. She was an imperious woman, of strong +will, ruling her kingdom alone. Above all she was very dignified, very +silent, and very sober-minded. That she was affectionate and loving +cannot be doubted, for she retained to the last a profound hold upon +the reverential devotion of her son, and yet as he rose steadily to +the pinnacle of human greatness, she could only say that "George +had been a good boy, and she was sure he would do his duty." Not a +brilliant woman evidently, not one suited to shine in courts, conduct +intrigues, or adorn literature, yet able to transmit moral qualities +to her oldest son, which, mingled with those of the Washingtons, were +of infinite value in the foundation of a great Republic. She found +herself a widow at an early age, with a family of young children to +educate and support. Her means were narrow, for although Augustine +Washington was able to leave what was called a landed estate to each +son, it was little more than idle capital, and the income in ready +money was by no means so evident as the acres. + +Many are the myths, and deplorably few the facts, that have come +down to us in regard to Washington's boyhood. For the former we are +indebted to the illustrious Weems, and to that personage a few more +words must be devoted. Weems has been held up to the present age +in various ways, usually, it must be confessed, of an unflattering +nature, and "mendacious" is the adjective most commonly applied to +him. There has been in reality a good deal of needless confusion about +Weems and his book, for he was not a complex character, and neither he +nor his writings are difficult to value or understand. By profession a +clergyman or preacher, by nature an adventurer, Weems loved notoriety, +money, and a wandering life. So he wrote books which he correctly +believed would be popular, and sold them not only through the regular +channels, but by peddling them himself as he traveled about the +country. In this way he gratified all his propensities, and no doubt +derived from life a good deal of simple pleasure. Chance brought him +near Washington in the closing days, and his commercial instinct +told him that here was the subject of all others for his pen and +his market. He accordingly produced the biography which had so much +success. Judged solely as literature, the book is beneath contempt. +The style is turgid, overloaded, and at times silly. The statements +are loose, the mode of narration confused and incoherent, and the +moralizing is flat and common-place to the last degree. Yet there +was a certain sincerity of feeling underneath all the bombast and +platitudes, and this saved the book. The biography did not go, and was +not intended to go, into the hands of the polite society of the great +eastern towns. It was meant for the farmers, the pioneers, and the +backwoodsmen of the country. It went into their homes, and passed with +them beyond the Alleghanies and out to the plains and valleys of the +great West. The very defects of the book helped it to success among +the simple, hard-working, hard-fighting race engaged in the conquest +of the American continent. To them its heavy and tawdry style, its +staring morals, and its real patriotism all seemed eminently befitting +the national hero, and thus Weems created the Washington of the +popular fancy. The idea grew up with the country, and became so +ingrained in the popular thought that finally everybody was affected +by it, and even the most stately and solemn of the Washington +biographers adopted the unsupported tales of the itinerant parson and +book-peddler. + +In regard to the public life of Washington, Weems took the facts known +to every one, and drawn for the most part from the gazettes. He then +dressed them up in his own peculiar fashion and gave them to the +world. All this, forming of course nine tenths of his book, has +passed, despite its success, into oblivion. The remaining tenth +described Washington's boyhood until his fourteenth or fifteenth year, +and this, which is the work of the author's imagination, has lived. +Weems, having set himself up as absolutely the only authority as to +this period, has been implicitly followed, and has thus come to demand +serious consideration. Until Weems is weighed and disposed of, we +cannot even begin an attempt to get at the real Washington. + +Weems was not a cold-blooded liar, a mere forger of anecdotes. He was +simply a man destitute of historical sense, training, or morals, ready +to take the slenderest fact and work it up for the purposes of the +market until it became almost as impossible to reduce it to its +original dimensions as it was for the fisherman to get the Afrit back +into his jar. In a word, Weems was an approved myth-maker. No better +example can be given than the way in which he described himself. It +is believed that he preached once, and possibly oftener, to a +congregation which numbered Washington among its members. Thereupon he +published himself in his book as the rector of Mount Vernon parish. +There was, to begin with, no such parish. There was Truro parish, in +which was a church called indifferently Pohick or Mount Vernon church. +Of this church Washington was a vestryman until 1785, when he joined +the church at Alexandria. The Rev. Lee Massey was the clergyman of the +Mount Vernon church, and the church at Alexandria had nothing to do +with Mount Vernon. There never was, moreover, such a person as the +rector of Mount Vernon parish, but it was the Weems way of treating +his appearance before the great man, and of deceiving the world with +the notion of an intimacy which the title implied. + +Weems, of course, had no difficulty with the public life, but in +describing the boyhood he was thrown on his own resources, and out +of them he evolved the cherry-tree, the refusal to fight or permit +fighting among the boys at school, and the initials in the garden. +This last story is to the effect that Augustine Washington planted +seeds in such a manner that when they sprouted they formed on the +earth the initials of his son's name, and the boy being much delighted +thereby, the father explained to him that it was the work of the +Creator, and thus inculcated a profound belief in God. This tale +is taken bodily from Dr. Beattie's biographical sketch of his son, +published in England in 1799, and may be dismissed at once. As to the +other two more familiar anecdotes there is not a scintilla of evidence +that they had any foundation, and with them may be included the colt +story, told by Mr. Custis, a simple variation of the cherry-tree +theme, which is Washington's early love of truth. Weems says that +his stories were told him by a lady, and "a good old gentleman," who +remembered the incidents, while Mr. Custis gives no authority for his +minute account of a trivial event over a century old when he wrote. +To a writer who invented the rector of Mount Vernon, the further +invention of a couple of Boswells would be a trifle. I say Boswells +advisedly, for these stories are told with the utmost minuteness, and +the conversations between Washington and his father are given as if +from a stenographic report. How Mr. Custis, usually so accurate, came +to be so far infected with the Weems myth as to tell the colt story +after the Weems manner, cannot now be determined. There can be no +doubt that Washington, like most healthy boys, got into a good deal of +mischief, and it is not at all impossible that he injured fruit-trees +and confessed that he had done so. It may be accepted as certain that +he rode and mastered many unbroken thoroughbred colts, and it is +possible that one of them burst a blood-vessel in the process and +died, and that the boy promptly told his mother of the accident. But +this is the utmost credit which these two anecdotes can claim. Even so +much as this cannot be said of certain other improving tales of like +nature. That Washington lectured his playmates on the wickedness of +fighting, and in the year 1754 allowed himself to be knocked down in +the presence of his soldiers, and thereupon begged his assailant's +pardon for having spoken roughly to him, are stories so silly and +so foolishly impossible that they do not deserve an instant's +consideration. + +There is nothing intrinsically impossible in either the cherry-tree or +the colt incident, nor would there be in a hundred others which might +be readily invented. The real point is that these stories, as told by +Weems and Mr. Custis, are on their face hopelessly and ridiculously +false. They are so, not merely because they have no vestige of +evidence to support them, but because they are in every word and +line the offspring of a period more than fifty years later. No +English-speaking people, certainly no Virginians, ever thought or +behaved or talked in 1740 like the personages in Weems's stories, +whatever they may have done in 1790, or at the beginning of the next +century. These precious anecdotes belong to the age of Miss Edgeworth +and Hannah More and Jane Taylor. They are engaging specimens of the +"Harry and Lucy" and "Purple Jar" morality, and accurately reflect the +pale didacticism which became fashionable in England at the close of +the last century. They are as untrue to nature and to fact at the +period to which they are assigned as would be efforts to depict +Augustine Washington and his wife in the dress of the French +revolution discussing the propriety of worshiping the Goddess of +Reason. + +To enter into any serious historical criticism of these stories would +be to break a butterfly. So much as this even has been said only +because these wretched fables have gone throughout the world, and it +is time that they were swept away into the dust-heaps of history. They +represent Mr. and Mrs. Washington as affected and priggish people, +given to cheap moralizing, and, what is far worse, they have served +to place Washington himself in a ridiculous light to an age which has +outgrown the educational foibles of seventy-five years ago. Augustine +Washington and his wife were a gentleman and lady of the eighteenth +century, living in Virginia. So far as we know without guessing or +conjecture, they were simple, honest, and straight-forward, devoted to +the care of their family and estate, and doing their duty sensibly and +after the fashion of their time. Their son, to whom the greatest wrong +has been done, not only never did anything common or mean, but from +the beginning to the end of his life he was never for an instant +ridiculous or affected, and he was as utterly removed from canting +or priggishness as any human being could well be. Let us therefore +consign the Weems stories and their offspring to the limbo of +historical rubbish, and try to learn what the plain facts tell us of +the boy Washington. + +Unfortunately these same facts are at first very few, so few that they +tell us hardly anything. We know when and where Washington was born; +and how, when he was little more than three years old,[1] he was taken +from Bridges Creek to the banks of the Rappahannock. There he was +placed under the charge of one Hobby, the sexton of the parish, to +learn his alphabet and his pothooks; and when that worthy man's store +of learning was exhausted he was sent back to Bridges Creek, soon +after his father's death, to live with his half-brother Augustine, +and obtain the benefits of a school kept by a Mr. Williams. There he +received what would now be called a fair common-school education, +wholly destitute of any instruction in languages, ancient or modern, +but apparently with some mathematical training. + +[Footnote 1: There is a conflict about the period of this removal (see +above, p. 37). Tradition places it in 1735, but the Rev. Mr. McGuire +(_Religious Opinions of Washington_) puts it in 1739.] + +That he studied faithfully cannot be doubted, and we know, too, that +he matured early, and was a tall, active, and muscular boy. He could +outwalk and outrun and outride any of his companions. As he could +no doubt have thrashed any of them too, he was, in virtue of these +qualities, which are respected everywhere by all wholesome minds, and +especially by boys, a leader among his school-fellows. We know further +that he was honest and true, and a lad of unusual promise, not because +of the goody-goody anecdotes of the myth-makers, but because he +was liked and trusted by such men as his brother Lawrence and Lord +Fairfax. + +There he was, at all events, in his fourteenth year, a big, strong, +hearty boy, offering a serious problem to his mother, who was +struggling along with many acres, little money, and five children. +Mrs. Washington's chief desire naturally was to put George in the way +of earning a living, which no doubt seemed far more important than +getting an education, and, as he was a sober-minded boy, the same idea +was probably profoundly impressed on his own mind also. This condition +of domestic affairs led to the first attempt to give Washington a +start in life, which has been given to us until very lately in a +somewhat decorated form. The fact is, that in casting about for +something to do, it occurred to some one, very likely to the boy +himself, that it would be a fine idea to go to sea. His masculine +friends and relatives urged the scheme upon Mrs. Washington, who +consented very reluctantly, if at all, not liking the notion of +parting with her oldest son, even in her anxiety to have him earn his +bread. When it came to the point, however, she finally decided against +his going, determined probably by a very sensible letter from her +brother, Joseph Ball, an English lawyer. In all the ornamented +versions we are informed that the boy was to enter the royal navy, +and that a midshipman's warrant was procured for him. There does not +appear to be any valid authority for the royal navy, the warrant, or +the midshipman. The contemporary Virginian letters speak simply of +"going to sea," while Mr. Ball says distinctly that the plan was to +enter the boy on a tobacco-ship, with an excellent chance of being +pressed on a man-of-war, and a very faint prospect of either getting +into the navy, or even rising to be the captain of one of the petty +trading-vessels familiar to Virginian planters. Some recent writers +have put Mr. Ball aside as not knowing what was intended in regard to +his nephew, but in view of the difficulty at that time of obtaining +commissions in the navy without great political influence, it seems +probable that Mrs. Washington's brother knew very well what he was +talking about, and he certainly wrote a very sensible letter. A bold, +adventurous boy, eager to earn his living and make his way in the +world, would, like many others before him, look longingly to the sea +as the highway to fortune and success. To Washington the romance of +the sea was represented by the tobacco-ship creeping up the river and +bringing all the luxuries and many of the necessaries of life from +vaguely distant countries. No doubt he wished to go on one of these +vessels and try his luck, and very possibly the royal navy was hoped +for as the ultimate result. The effort was certainly made to send +him to sea, but it failed, and he went back to school to study more +mathematics. + +Apart from the fact that the exact sciences in moderate degree were +about all that Mr. Williams could teach, this branch of learning had +an immediate practical value, inasmuch as surveying was almost the +only immediately gainful pursuit open to a young Virginia gentleman, +who sorely needed a little ready money that he might buy slaves and +work a plantation. So Washington studied on for two years more, and +fitted himself to be a surveyor. There are still extant some early +papers belonging to this period, chiefly fragments of school +exercises, which show that he already wrote the bold, handsome +hand with which the world was to become familiar, and that he made +geometrical figures and notes of surveys with the neatness and +accuracy which clung to him in all the work of his life, whether great +or small. Among those papers, too, were found many copies of legal +forms, and a set of rules, over a hundred in number, as to etiquette +and behavior, carefully written out. It has always been supposed that +these rules were copied, but it was reserved apparently for the storms +of a mighty civil war to lay bare what may have been, if not the +source of the rules themselves, the origin and suggestion of their +compilation. At that time a little volume was found in Virginia +bearing the name of George Washington in a boyish hand on the +fly-leaf, and the date 1742. The book was entitled, "The Young Man's +Companion." It was an English work, and had passed through thirteen +editions, which was little enough in view of its varied and extensive +information. It was written by W. Mather, in a plain and easy style, +and treated of arithmetic, surveying, forms for legal documents, the +measuring of land and lumber, gardening, and many other useful topics, +and it contained general precepts which, with the aid of Hale's +"Contemplations," may readily have furnished the hints for the rules +found in manuscript among Washington's papers.[1] These rules were in +the main wise and sensible, and it is evident they had occupied deeply +the boy's mind.[2] They are for the most part concerned with the +commonplaces of etiquette and good manners, but there is something not +only apt but quite prophetic in the last one, "Labor to keep alive in +your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." To +suppose that Washington's character was formed by these sententious +bits of not very profound wisdom would be absurd; but that a series of +rules which most lads would have regarded as simply dull should have +been written out and pondered by this boy indicates a soberness and +thoughtfulness of mind which certainly are not usual at that age. +The chief thought that runs through all the sayings is to practice +self-control, and no man ever displayed that most difficult of virtues +to such a degree as George Washington. It was no ordinary boy who took +such a lesson as this to heart before he was fifteen, and carried it +into his daily life, never to be forgotten. It may also be said that +very few boys ever needed it more; but those persons who know what +they chiefly need, and pursue it, are by no means common. + +[Footnote 1: An account of this volume was given in the _New York +Tribune_ in 1866, and also in the _Historical Magazine_ (x. 47).] + +[Footnote 2: The most important are given in Sparks' _Writings of +Washington_, ii. 412, and they may be found complete in the little +pamphlet concerning them, excellently edited by Dr. J.M. Toner, of +Washington.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ON THE FRONTIER + + +While Washington was working his way through the learning purveyed +by Mr. Williams, he was also receiving another education, of a much +broader and better sort, from the men and women among whom he found +himself, and with whom he made friends. Chief among them was his +eldest brother, Lawrence, fourteen years his senior, who had been +educated in England, had fought with Vernon at Carthagena, and had +then returned to Virginia, to be to him a generous father and a loving +friend. As the head of the family, Lawrence Washington had received +the lion's share of the property, including the estate at Hunting +Creek, on the Potomac, which he christened Mount Vernon, after his +admiral, and where he settled down and built him a goodly house. To +this pleasant spot George Washington journeyed often in vacation +time, and there he came to live and further pursue his studies, after +leaving school in the autumn of 1747. + +Lawrence Washington had married the daughter of William Fairfax, the +proprietor of Belvoir, a neighboring plantation, and the agent for +the vast estates held by his family in Virginia. George Fairfax, Mrs. +Washington's brother, had married a Miss Gary, and thus two large and +agreeable family connections were thrown open to the young surveyor +when he emerged from school. The chief figure, however, in that +pleasant winter of 1747-48, so far as an influence upon the character +of Washington is concerned, was the head of the family into which +Lawrence Washington had married. Thomas, Lord Fairfax, then sixty +years of age, had come to Virginia to live upon and look after the +kingdom which he had inherited in the wilderness. He came of a noble +and distinguished race. Graduating at Oxford with credit, he served in +the army, dabbled in literature, had his fling in the London world, +and was jilted by a beauty who preferred a duke, and gave her faithful +but less titled lover an apparently incurable wound. His life having +been thus early twisted and set awry, Lord Fairfax, when well past his +prime, had determined finally to come to Virginia, bury himself in the +forests, and look after the almost limitless possessions beyond the +Blue Ridge, which he had inherited from his maternal grandfather, Lord +Culpeper, of unsavory Restoration memory. It was a piece of great +good-fortune which threw in Washington's path this accomplished +gentleman, familiar with courts and camps, disappointed, but not +morose, disillusioned, but still kindly and generous. From him the boy +could gain that knowledge of men and manners which no school can give, +and which is as important in its way as any that a teacher can impart. + +Lord Fairfax and Washington became fast friends. They hunted the fox +together, and hunted him hard. They engaged in all the rough sports +and perilous excitements which Virginia winter life could afford, and +the boy's bold and skillful riding, his love of sports and his fine +temper, commended him to the warm and affectionate interest of the old +nobleman. Other qualities, too, the experienced man of the world saw +in his young companion: a high and persistent courage, robust and calm +sense, and, above all, unusual force of will and character. Washington +impressed profoundly everybody with whom he was brought into personal +contact, a fact which is one of the most marked features of his +character and career, and one which deserves study more than almost +any other. Lord Fairfax was no exception to the rule. He saw in +Washington not simply a promising, brave, open-hearted boy, diligent +in practicing his profession, and whom he was anxious to help, but +something more; something which so impressed him that he confided to +this lad a task which, according to its performance, would affect both +his fortune and his peace. In a word, he trusted Washington, and told +him, as the spring of 1748 was opening, to go forth and survey the +vast Fairfax estates beyond the Ridge, define their boundaries, and +save them from future litigation. With this commission from Lord +Fairfax, Washington entered on the first period of his career. He +passed it on the frontier, fighting nature, the Indians, and the +French. He went in a schoolboy; he came out the first soldier in the +colonies, and one of the leading men of Virginia. Let us pause a +moment and look at him as he stands on the threshold of this momentous +period, rightly called momentous because it was the formative period +in the life of such a man. + +[Illustration: LAWRENCE WASHINGTON] + +He had just passed his sixteenth birthday. He was tall and muscular, +approaching the stature of more than six feet which he afterwards +attained. He was not yet filled out to manly proportions, but was +rather spare, after the fashion of youth. He had a well-shaped, +active figure, symmetrical except for the unusual length of the arms, +indicating uncommon strength. His light brown hair was drawn back from +a broad forehead, and grayish-blue eyes looked happily, and perhaps a +trifle soberly, on the pleasant Virginia world about him. The face was +open and manly, with a square, massive jaw, and a general expression +of calmness and strength. "Fair and florid," big and strong, he was, +take him for all in all, as fine a specimen of his race as could be +found in the English colonies. + +Let us look a little closer through the keen eyes of one who studied +many faces to good purpose. The great painter of portraits, Gilbert +Stuart, tells us of Washington that he never saw in any man such large +eye-sockets, or such a breadth of nose and forehead between the +eyes, and that he read there the evidences of the strongest passions +possible to human nature. John Bernard the actor, a good observer, +too, saw in Washington's face, in 1797, the signs of an habitual +conflict and mastery of passions, witnessed by the compressed mouth +and deeply indented brow. The problem had been solved then; but in +1748, passion and will alike slumbered, and no man could tell which +would prevail, or whether they would work together to great purpose +or go jarring on to nothingness. He rises up to us out of the past in +that early springtime a fine, handsome, athletic boy, beloved by those +about him, who found him a charming companion and did not guess that +he might be a terribly dangerous foe. He rises up instinct with life +and strength, a being capable, as we know, of great things whether for +good or evil, with hot blood pulsing in his veins and beating in his +heart, with violent passions and relentless will still undeveloped; +and no one in all that jolly, generous Virginian society even dimly +dreamed what that development would be, or what it would mean to the +world. + +It was in March, 1748, that George Fairfax and Washington set forth on +their adventures, and passing through Ashby's Gap in the Blue Ridge, +entered the valley of Virginia. Thence they worked their way up the +valley of the Shenandoah, surveying as they went, returned and swam +the swollen Potomac, surveyed the lands about its south branch and in +the mountainous region of Frederick County, and finally reached Mount +Vernon again on April 12. It was a rough experience for a beginner, +but a wholesome one, and furnished the usual vicissitudes of frontier +life. They were wet, cold, and hungry, or warm, dry, and well fed, by +turns. They slept in a tent, or the huts of the scattered settlers, +and oftener still beneath the stars. They met a war party of Indians, +and having plied them with liquor, watched one of their mad dances +round the camp-fire. In another place they came on a straggling +settlement of Germans, dull, patient, and illiterate, strangely unfit +for the life of the wilderness. All these things, as well as the +progress of their work and their various resting-places, Washington +noted down briefly but methodically in a diary, showing in these rough +notes the first evidences of that keen observation of nature and men +and of daily incidents which he developed to such good purpose in +after-life. There are no rhapsodies and no reflections in these hasty +jottings, but the employments and the discomforts are all set down in +a simple and matter-of-fact way, which omitted no essential thing and +excluded all that was worthless. His work, too, was well done, and +Lord Fairfax was so much pleased by the report that he moved across +the Blue Ridge, built a hunting lodge preparatory to something more +splendid which never came to pass, and laid out a noble manor, to +which he gave the name of Greenway Court. He also procured for +Washington an appointment as a public surveyor, which conferred +authority on his surveys and provided him with regular work. Thus +started, Washington toiled at his profession for three years, living +and working as he did on his first expedition. It was a rough life, +but a manly and robust one, and the men who live it, although often +rude and coarse, are never weak or effeminate. To Washington it was +an admirable school. It strengthened his muscles and hardened him to +exposure and fatigue. It accustomed him to risks and perils of various +kinds, and made him fertile in expedients and confident of himself, +while the nature of his work rendered him careful and industrious. +That his work was well done is shown by the fact that his surveys were +considered of the first authority, and stand unquestioned to this day, +like certain other work which he was subsequently called to do. It was +part of his character, when he did anything, to do it in a lasting +fashion, and it is worth while to remember that the surveys he made as +a boy were the best that could be made. + +He wrote to a friend at this time: "Since you received my letter of +October last, I have not slept above three or four nights in a bed, +but, after walking a good deal all the day, I have lain down before +the fire upon a little hay, straw, fodder, or a bearskin, whichever +was to be had, with man, wife, and children, like dogs and cats; and +happy is he who gets the berth nearest the fire. Nothing would make it +pass off tolerably but a good reward. A doubloon is my constant gain +every day that the weather will permit of my going out, and sometimes +six pistoles." He was evidently a thrifty lad, and honestly pleased +with honest earnings. He was no mere adventurous wanderer, but a man +working for results in money, reputation, or some solid value, +and while he worked and earned he kept an observant eye upon the +wilderness, and bought up when he could the best land for himself and +his family, laying the foundations of the great landed estate of which +he died possessed. + +There was also a lighter and pleasanter side to this hard-working +existence, which was quite as useful, and more attractive, than +toiling in the woods and mountains. The young surveyor passed much of +his time at Greenway Court, hunting the fox and rejoicing in all field +sports which held high place in that kingdom, while at the same time +he profited much in graver fashion by his friendship with such a man +as Lord Fairfax. There, too, he had a chance at a library, and his +diaries show that he read carefully the history of England and the +essays of the "Spectator." Neither in early days nor at any other time +was he a student, for he had few opportunities, and his life from the +beginning was out of doors and among men. But the idea sometimes put +forward that Washington cared nothing for reading or for books is an +idle one. He read at Greenway Court and everywhere else when he had an +opportunity. He read well, too, and to some purpose, studying men and +events in books as he did in the world, for though he never talked of +his reading, preserving silence on that as on other things concerning +himself, no one ever was able to record an instance in which he showed +himself ignorant of history or of literature. He was never a learned +man, but so far as his own language could carry him he was an educated +one. Thus while he developed the sterner qualities by hard work and a +rough life, he did not bring back the coarse habits of the backwoods +and the camp-fire, but was able to refine his manners and improve his +mind in the excellent society and under the hospitable roof of Lord +Fairfax. + +Three years slipped by, and then a domestic change came which much +affected Washington's whole life. The Carthagena campaign had +undermined the strength of Lawrence Washington and sown the seeds of +consumption, which showed itself in 1749, and became steadily more +alarming. A voyage to England and a summer at the warm springs were +tried without success, and finally, as a last resort, the invalid +sailed for the West Indies, in September, 1751. Thither his brother +George accompanied him, and we have the fragments of a diary kept +during this first and last wandering outside his native country. He +copied the log, noted the weather, and evidently strove to get some +idea of nautical matters while he was at sea and leading a life +strangely unfamiliar to a woodsman and pioneer. When they arrived at +their destination they were immediately asked to breakfast and dine +with Major Clarke, the military magnate of the place, and our young +Virginian remarked, with characteristic prudence and a certain touch +of grim humor, "We went,--myself with some reluctance, as the smallpox +was in the family." He fell a victim to his good manners, for two +weeks later he was "strongly attacked with the smallpox," and was +then housed for a month, getting safely and successfully through +this dangerous and then almost universal ordeal. Before the disease +declared itself, however, he went about everywhere, innocently +scattering infection, and greatly enjoying the pleasures of the +island. It is to be regretted that any part of this diary should have +been lost, for it is pleasant reading, and exhibits the writer in an +agreeable and characteristic fashion. He commented on the country and +the scenery, inveighed against the extravagance of the charges for +board and lodging, told of his dinner-parties and his friends, and +noted the marvelous abundance and variety of the tropical fruits, +which contrasted strangely with the British dishes of beefsteak and +tripe. He also mentioned being treated to a ticket to see the play of +"George Barnwell," on which he offered this cautious criticism: +"The character of Barnwell and several others were said to be well +performed. There was music adapted and regularly conducted." + +Soon after his recovery Washington returned to Virginia, arriving +there in February, 1752. The diary concluded with a brief but +perfectly effective description of Barbadoes, touching on its +resources and scenery, its government and condition, and the manners +and customs of its inhabitants. All through these notes we find the +keenly observant spirit, and the evidence of a mind constantly alert +to learn. We see also a pleasant, happy temperament, enjoying with +hearty zest all the pleasures that youth and life could furnish. He +who wrote these lines was evidently a vigorous, good-humored young +fellow, with a quick eye for the world opening before him, and for the +delights as well as the instruction which it offered. + +From the sunshine and ease of this tropical winter Washington passed +to a long season of trial and responsibility at home and abroad. In +July, 1752, his much-loved brother Lawrence died, leaving George +guardian of his daughter, and heir to his estates in the event of +that daughter's death. Thus the current of his home life changed, and +responsibility came into it, while outside the mighty stream of public +events changed too, and swept him along in the swelling torrent of a +world-wide war. + +In all the vast wilderness beyond the mountains there was not room for +both French and English. The rival nations had been for years slowly +approaching each other, until in 1749 each people proceeded at last to +take possession of the Ohio country after its own fashion. The French +sent a military expedition which sank and nailed up leaden plates; the +English formed a great land company to speculate and make money, and +both set diligently to work to form Indian alliances. A man of far +less perception than Lawrence Washington, who had become the chief +manager of the Ohio Company, would have seen that the conditions on +the frontier rendered war inevitable, and he accordingly made ready +for the future by preparing his brother for the career of a soldier, +so far as it could be done. He brought to Mount Vernon two old +companions-in-arms of the Carthagena time, Adjutant Muse, a Virginian, +and Jacob Van Braam, a Dutch soldier of fortune. The former instructed +Washington in the art of war, tactics, and the manual of arms, the +latter in fencing and the sword exercise. At the same time Lawrence +Washington procured for his brother, then only nineteen years of age, +an appointment as one of the adjutants-general of Virginia, with the +rank of major. To all this the young surveyor took kindly enough so +far as we can tell, but his military avocations were interrupted by +his voyage to Barbadoes, by the illness and death of his brother, and +by the cares and responsibilities thereby thrust upon him. + +Meantime the French aggressions had continued, and French soldiers and +traders were working their way up from the South and down from the +North, bullying and cajoling the Indians by turns, taking possession +of the Ohio country, and selecting places as they went for that +chain of forts which was to hem in and slowly strangle the English +settlements. Governor Dinwiddie had sent a commissioner to remonstrate +against these encroachments, but his envoy had stopped a hundred +and fifty miles short of the French posts, alarmed by the troublous +condition of things, and by the defeat and slaughter which the +Frenchmen had already inflicted upon the Indians. Some more vigorous +person was evidently needed to go through the form of warning France +not to trespass on the English wilderness, and thereupon Governor +Dinwiddie selected for the task George Washington, recently +reappointed adjutant-general of the northern division, and major in +the Virginian forces. He was a young man for such an undertaking, not +yet twenty-two, but clearly of good reputation. It is plain enough +that Lord Fairfax and others had said to the governor, "Here is the +very man for you; young, daring, and adventurous, but yet sober-minded +and responsible, who only lacks opportunity to show the stuff that is +in him." + +Thus, then, in October, 1753, Washington set forth with Van Braam, and +various servants and horses, accompanied by the boldest of Virginian +frontiersmen, Christopher Gist. He wrote a report in the form of a +journal, which was sent to England and much read at the time as part +of the news of the day, and which has an equal although different +interest now. It is a succinct, clear, and sober narrative. The little +party was formed at Will's Creek, and thence through woods and over +swollen rivers made its way to Logstown. Here they spent some days +among the Indians, whose leaders Washington got within his grasp after +much speech-making; and here, too, he met some French deserters from +the South, and drew from them all the knowledge they possessed of New +Orleans and the military expeditions from that region. From Logstown +he pushed on, accompanied by his Indian chiefs, to Venango, on the +Ohio, the first French outpost. The French officers asked him to sup +with them. The wine flowed freely, the tongues of the hosts were +loosened, and the young Virginian, temperate and hard-headed, listened +to all the conversation, and noted down mentally much that was +interesting and valuable. The next morning the Indian chiefs, +prudently kept in the background, appeared, and a struggle ensued +between the talkative, clever Frenchmen and the quiet, persistent +Virginian, over the possession of these important savages. Finally +Washington got off, carrying his chiefs with him, and made his way +seventy miles further to the fort on French Creek. Here he delivered +the governor's letter, and while M. de St. Pierre wrote a vague and +polite answer, he sketched the fort and informed himself in regard to +the military condition of the post. Then came another struggle over +the Indians, and finally Washington got off with them once more, and +worked his way back to Venango. Another struggle for the savages +followed, rum being always the principal factor in the negotiation, +and at last the chiefs determined to stay behind. Nevertheless, the +work had been well done, and the important Half-King remained true to +the English cause. + +Leaving his horses, Washington and Gist then took to the woods on +foot. The French Indians lay in wait for them and tried to murder +them, and Gist, like a true frontiersman, was for shooting the +scoundrel whom they captured. But Washington stayed his hand, and +they gave the savage the slip and pressed on. It was the middle of +December, very cold and stormy. In crossing a river, Washington fell +from the raft into deep water, amid the floating ice, but fought his +way out, and he and his companion passed the night on an island, with +their clothes frozen upon them. So through peril and privation, and +various dangers, stopping in the midst of it all to win another savage +potentate, they reached the edge of the settlements and thence went +on to Williamsburg, where great praise and glory were awarded to the +youthful envoy, the hero of the hour in the little Virginia capital. + +It is worth while to pause over this expedition a moment and to +consider attentively this journal which recounts it, for there are +very few incidents or documents which tell us more of Washington. He +was not yet twenty-two when he faced this first grave responsibility, +and he did his work absolutely well. Cool courage, of course, he +showed, but also patience and wisdom in handling the Indians, a clear +sense that the crafty and well-trained Frenchmen could not blind, and +a strong faculty for dealing with men, always a rare and precious +gift. As in the little Barbadoes diary, so also in this journal, +we see, and far more strongly, the penetration and perception that +nothing could escape, and which set down all things essential and let +the "huddling silver, little worth," go by. The clearness, terseness, +and entire sufficiency of the narrative are obvious and lie on the +surface; but we find also another quality of the man which is one of +the most marked features in his character, and one which we must dwell +upon again and again, as we follow the story of his life. Here it +is that we learn directly for the first time that Washington was a +profoundly silent man. The gospel of silence has been preached in +these latter days by Carlyle, with the fervor of a seer and prophet, +and the world owes him a debt for the historical discredit which he +has brought upon the man of mere words as compared with the man of +deeds. Carlyle brushed Washington aside as "a bloodless Cromwell," a +phrase to which we must revert later on other grounds, and, as +has already been said, failed utterly to see that he was the most +supremely silent of the great men of action that the world can show. +Like Cromwell and Frederic, Washington wrote countless letters, made +many speeches, and was agreeable in conversation. But this was all in +the way of business, and a man may be profoundly silent and yet talk a +great deal. Silence in the fine and true sense is neither mere holding +of the tongue nor an incapacity of expression. The greatly silent man +is he who is not given to words for their own sake, and who never +talks about himself. Both Cromwell, greatest of Englishmen, and the +great Frederic, Carlyle's especial heroes, were fond of talking of +themselves. So in still larger measure was Napoleon, and many others +of less importance. But Washington differs from them all. He had +abundant power of words, and could use them with much force and point +when he was so minded, but he never used them needlessly or to hide +his meaning, and he never talked about himself. Hence the inestimable +difficulty of knowing him. A brief sentence here and there, a rare +gleam of light across the page of a letter, is all that we can find. +The rest is silence. He did as great work as has fallen to the lot of +man, he wrote volumes of correspondence, he talked with innumerable +men and women, and of himself he said nothing. Here in this youthful +journal we have a narrative of wild adventure, wily diplomacy, and +personal peril, impossible of condensation, and yet not a word of the +writer's thoughts or feelings. All that was done or said important to +the business in hand was set down, and nothing was overlooked, but +that is all. The work was done, and we know how it was done, but the +man is silent as to all else. Here, indeed, is the man of action and +of real silence, a character to be much admired and wondered at in +these or any other days. + +Washington's report looked like war, and its author was shortly +afterwards appointed lieutenant-colonel of a Virginian regiment, +Colonel Fry commanding. Now began that long experience of human +stupidity and inefficiency with which Washington was destined to +struggle through all the years of his military career, suffering from +them, and triumphing in spite of them to a degree unequaled by any +other great commander. Dinwiddie, the Scotch governor, was eager +enough to fight, and full of energy and good intentions, but he was +hasty and not overwise, and was filled with an excessive idea of his +prerogatives. The assembly, on its side, was sufficiently patriotic, +but its members came from a community which for more than half a +century had had no fighting, and they knew nothing of war or its +necessities. Unaccustomed to the large affairs into which they were +suddenly plunged, they displayed a narrow and provincial spirit. +Keenly alive to their own rights and privileges, they were more +occupied in quarreling with Dinwiddie than in prosecuting the war. In +the weak proprietary governments of Maryland and Pennsylvania there +was the same condition of affairs, with every evil exaggerated +tenfold. The fighting spirit was dominant in Virginia, but in +Quaker-ridden Pennsylvania it seems to have been almost extinct. These +three were not very promising communities to look to for support in a +difficult and costly war. + +With all this inertia and stupidity Washington was called to cope, and +he rebelled against it in vigorous fashion. Leaving Colonel Fry to +follow with the main body of troops, Washington set out on April 2, +1754, with two companies from Alexandria, where he had been recruiting +amidst most irritating difficulties. He reached Will's Creek three +weeks later; and then his real troubles began. Captain Trent, the +timid and halting envoy, who had failed to reach the French, had been +sent out by the wise authorities to build a fort at the junction of +the Alleghany and Monongahela, on the admirable site selected by the +keen eye of Washington. There Trent left his men and returned to +Will's Creek, where Washington found him, but without the pack-horses +that he had promised to provide. Presently news came that the French +in overwhelming numbers had swept down upon Trent's little party, +captured their fort, and sent them packing back to Virginia. +Washington took this to be war, and determined at once to march +against the enemy. Having impressed from the inhabitants, who were not +bubbling over with patriotism, some horses and wagons, he set out on +his toilsome march across the mountains. + +It was a wild and desolate region, and progress was extremely slow. +By May 9 he was at the Little Meadows, twenty miles from his +starting-place; by the 18th at the Youghiogany River, which he +explored and found unnavigable. He was therefore forced to take up his +weary march again for the Monongahela, and by the 27th he was at the +Great Meadows, a few miles further on. The extreme danger of his +position does not seem to have occurred to him, but he was harassed +and angered by the conduct of the assembly. He wrote to Governor +Dinwiddie that he had no idea of giving up his commission. "But," he +continued, "let me serve voluntarily; then I will, with the greatest +pleasure in life, devote my services to the expedition, without any +other reward than the satisfaction of serving my country; but to be +slaving dangerously for the shadow of pay, through woods, rocks, +mountains,--I would rather prefer the great toil of a daily laborer, +and dig for a maintenance, provided I were reduced to the necessity, +than serve upon such ignoble terms; for I really do not see why the +lives of his Majesty's subjects in Virginia should be of less value +than those in other parts of his American dominions, especially when +it is well known that we must undergo double their hardship." Here we +have a high-spirited, high-tempered young gentleman, with a contempt +for shams that it is pleasant to see, and evidently endowed also with +a fine taste for fighting and not too much patience. + +Indignant letters written in vigorous language were, however, of +little avail, and Washington prepared to shift for himself as best he +might. His Indian allies brought him news that the French were on the +march and had thrown out scouting parties. Picking out a place in the +Great Meadows for a fort, "a charming field for an encounter," he in +his turn sent out a scouting party, and then on fresh intelligence +from the Indians set forth himself with forty men to find the enemy. +After a toilsome march they discovered their foes in camp. The French, +surprised and surrounded, sprang to arms, the Virginians fired, there +was a sharp exchange of shots, and all was over. Ten of the French +were killed and twenty-one were taken prisoners, only one of the party +escaping to carry back the news. + +This little skirmish made a prodigious noise in its day, and was much +heralded in France. The French declared that Jumonville, the leader, +who fell at the first fire, was foully assassinated, and that he and +his party were ambassadors and sacred characters. Paris rang with this +fresh instance of British perfidy, and a M. Thomas celebrated the +luckless Jumonville in a solemn epic poem in four books. French +historians, relying on the account of the Canadian who escaped, +adopted the same tone, and at a later day mourned over this black +spot on Washington's character. The French view was simple nonsense. +Jumonville and his party, as the papers found on Jumonville showed, +were out on a spying and scouting expedition. They were seeking to +surprise the English when the English surprised them, with the usual +backwoods result. The affair has a dramatic interest because it was +the first blood shed in a great struggle, and was the beginning of a +series of world-wide wars and social and political convulsions, which +terminated more than half a century later on the plains of Waterloo. +It gave immortality to an obscure French officer by linking his name +with that of his opponent, and brought Washington for the moment +before the eyes of the world, which little dreamed that this Virginian +colonel was destined to be one of the principal figures in the great +revolutionary drama to which the war then beginning was but the +prologue. + +Washington, for his part, well satisfied with his exploit, retraced +his steps, and having sent his prisoners back to Virginia, proceeded +to consider his situation. It was not a very cheerful prospect. +Contrecoeur, with the main body of the French and Indians, was moving +down from the Monongahela a thousand strong. This of course was to +have been anticipated, and it does not seem to have in the least +damped Washington's spirits. His blood was up, his fighting temper +thoroughly roused, and he prepared to push on. Colonel Fry had died +meanwhile, leaving Washington in command; but his troops came forward, +and also not long after a useless "independent" company from South +Carolina. Thus reinforced Washington advanced painfully some thirteen +miles, and then receiving sure intelligence of the approach of the +French in great force fell back with difficulty to the Great Meadows, +where he was obliged by the exhausted condition of his men to stop. He +at once resumed work on Fort Necessity, and made ready for a desperate +defense, for the French were on his heels, and on July 3 appeared at +the Meadows. Washington offered battle outside the fort, and this +being declined withdrew to his trenches, and skirmishing went on all +day. When night fell it was apparent that the end had come. The men +were starved and worn out. Their muskets in many cases were rendered +useless by the rain, and their ammunition was spent. The Indians had +deserted, and the foe outnumbered them four to one. When the French +therefore offered a parley, Washington was forced reluctantly to +accept. The French had no stomach for the fight, apparently, and +allowed the English to go with their arms, exacting nothing but a +pledge that for a year they would not come to the Ohio. + +So ended Washington's first campaign. His friend the Half-King, the +celebrated Seneca chief, Thanacarishon, who prudently departed on the +arrival of the French, has left us a candid opinion of Washington and +his opponents. "The colonel," he said, "was a good-natured man, but +had no experience; he took upon him to command the Indians as his +slaves, and would have them every day upon the scout and to attack +the enemy by themselves, but would by no means take advice from the +Indians. He lay in one place from one full moon to the other, without +making any fortifications, except that little thing on the meadow; +whereas, had he taken advice, and built such fortifications as I +advised him, he might easily have beat off the French. But the French +in the engagement acted like cowards, and the English like fools."[1] + +[Footnote 1: _Enquiry into the Causes and Alienations of the Delaware +and Shawanee Indians_, etc. London, 1759. By Charles Thomson, +afterwards Secretary of Congress.] + +There is a deal of truth in this opinion. The whole expedition was +rash in the extreme. When Washington left Will's Creek he was aware +that he was going to meet a force of a thousand men with only a +hundred and fifty raw recruits at his back. In the same spirit he +pushed on; and after the Jumonville affair, although he knew that the +wilderness about him was swarming with enemies, he still struggled +forward. When forced to retreat he made a stand at the Meadows and +offered battle in the open to his more numerous and more prudent +foes, for he was one of those men who by nature regard courage as a +substitute for everything, and who have a contempt for hostile odds. +He was ready to meet any number of French and Indians with cheerful +confidence and with real pleasure. He wrote, in a letter which +soon became famous, that he loved to hear bullets whistle, a sage +observation which he set down in later years as a folly of youth. Yet +this boyish outburst, foolish as it was, has a meaning to us, for it +was essentially true. Washington had the fierce fighting temper of the +Northmen. He loved battle and danger, and he never ceased to love them +and to give way to their excitement, although he did not again set +down such sentiments in boastful phrase that made the world laugh. +Men of such temper, moreover, are naturally imperious and have a fine +disregard of consequences, with the result that their allies, Indian +or otherwise, often become impatient and finally useless. The campaign +was perfectly wild from the outset, and if it had not been for +the utter indifference to danger displayed by Washington, and the +consequent timidity of the French, that particular body of Virginians +would have been permanently lost to the British Empire. + +But we learn from all this many things. It appears that Washington was +not merely a brave man, but one who loved fighting for its own sake. +The whole expedition shows an arbitrary temper and the most reckless +courage, valuable qualities, but here unrestrained, and mixed +with very little prudence. Some important lessons were learned by +Washington from the rough teachings of inexorable and unconquerable +facts. He received in this campaign the first taste of that severe +experience which by its training developed the self-control and +mastery of temper for which he became so remarkable. He did not spring +into life a perfect and impossible man, as is so often represented. On +the contrary, he was educated by circumstances; but the metal came out +of the furnace of experience finely tempered, because it was by nature +of the best and with but little dross to be purged away. In addition +to all this he acquired for the moment what would now be called a +European reputation. He was known in Paris as an assassin, and in +England, thanks to the bullet letter, as a "fanfaron" and brave +braggart. With these results he wended his way home much depressed in +spirits, but not in the least discouraged, and fonder of fighting than +ever. + +Virginia, however, took a kinder view of the campaign than did her +defeated soldier. She appreciated the gallantry of the offer to fight +in the open and the general conduct of the troops, and her House of +Burgesses passed a vote of thanks to Washington and his officers, and +gave money to his men. In August he rejoined his regiment, only to +renew the vain struggle against incompetence and extravagance, and as +if this were not enough, his sense of honor was wounded and his temper +much irritated by the governor's playing false to the prisoners taken +in the Jumonville fight. While thus engaged, news came that the French +were off their guard at Fort Duquesne, and Dinwiddie was for having +the regiment of undisciplined troops march again into the wilderness. +Washington, however, had learned something, if not a great deal, and +he demonstrated the folly of such an attempt in a manner too clear to +be confuted. + +Meantime the Burgesses came together, and more money being voted, +Dinwiddie hit on a notable plan for quieting dissensions between +regulars and provincials by dividing all the troops into independent +companies, with no officer higher than a captain. Washington, the +only officer who had seen fighting and led a regiment, resented quite +properly this senseless policy, and resigning his commission withdrew +to Mount Vernon to manage the estate and attend to his own affairs. He +was driven to this course still more strongly by the original cause of +Dinwiddie's arrangement. The English government had issued an order +that officers holding the king's commission should rank provincial +officers, and that provincial generals and field officers should have +no rank when a general or field officer holding a royal commission was +present. The degradation of being ranked by every whipper-snapper who +might hold a royal commission by virtue, perhaps, of being the bastard +son of some nobleman's cast-off mistress was more than the temper +of George Washington at least could bear, and when Governor Sharpe, +general by the king's commission, and eager to secure the services +of the best fighter in Virginia, offered him a company and urged his +acceptance, he replied in language that must have somewhat astonished +his excellency. "You make mention in your letter," he wrote to Colonel +Fitzhugh, Governor Sharpe's second in command, "of my continuing in +the service, and retaining my colonel's commission. This idea has +filled me with surprise; for, if you think me capable of holding a +commission that has neither rank nor emolument annexed to it, you must +entertain a very contemptible opinion of my weakness, and believe +me to be more empty than the commission itself.... In short, every +captain bearing the king's commission, every half-pay officer, or +others, appearing with such a commission, would rank before me.... Yet +my inclinations are strongly bent to arms." + +It was a bitter disappointment to withdraw from military life, but +Washington had an intense sense of personal dignity; not the small +vanity of a petty mind, but the quality of a proud man conscious of +his own strength and purpose. It was of immense value to the American +people at a later day, and there is something very instructive in this +early revolt against the stupid arrogance which England has always +thought it wise to display toward this country. She has paid dearly +for indulging it, but it has seldom cost her more than when it drove +Washington from her service, and left in his mind a sense of indignity +and injustice. + +Meantime this Virginian campaigning had started a great movement. +England was aroused, and it was determined to assail France in Nova +Scotia, from New York and on the Ohio. In accordance with this plan +General Braddock arrived in Virginia February 20, 1755, with two +picked regiments, and encamped at Alexandria. Thither Washington used +to ride and look longingly at the pomp and glitter, and wish that he +wore engaged in the service. Presently this desire became known, and +Braddock, hearing of the young Virginian's past experience, offered +him a place on his staff with the rank of colonel where he would +be subject only to the orders of the general, and could serve as a +volunteer. He therefore accepted at once, and threw himself into +his new duties with hearty good-will. Every step now was full of +instruction. At Annapolis he met the governors of the other +colonies, and was interested and attracted by this association with +distinguished public men. In the army to which he was attached he +studied with the deepest attention the best discipline of Europe, +observing everything and forgetting nothing, thus preparing himself +unconsciously to use against his teachers the knowledge he acquired. + +He also made warm friends with the English officers, and was treated +with consideration by his commander. The universal practice of all +Englishmen at that time was to behave contemptuously to the colonists, +but there was something about Washington which made this impossible. +They all treated him with the utmost courtesy, vaguely conscious that +beneath the pleasant, quiet manner there was a strength of character +and ability such as is rarely found, and that this was a man whom it +was unsafe to affront. There is no stronger instance of Washington's +power of impressing himself upon others than that he commanded now +the respect and affection of his general, who was the last man to be +easily or favorably affected by a young provincial officer. + +Edward Braddock was a veteran soldier, a skilled disciplinarian, and a +rigid martinet. He was narrow-minded, brutal, and brave. He had led a +fast life in society, indulging in coarse and violent dissipations, +and was proud with the intense pride of a limited intelligence and a +nature incapable of physical fear. It would be difficult to conceive +of a man more unfit to be entrusted with the task of marching through +the wilderness and sweeping the French from the Ohio. All the +conditions which confronted him were unfamiliar and beyond his +experience. He cordially despised the provincials who were essential +to his success, and lost no opportunity of showing his contempt for +them. The colonists on their side, especially in Pennsylvania, gave +him, unfortunately, only too much ground for irritation and disgust. +They were delighted to see this brilliant force come from England to +fight their battles, but they kept on wrangling and holding back, +refusing money and supplies, and doing nothing. Braddock chafed and +delayed, swore angrily, and lingered still. Washington strove to help +him, but defended his country fearlessly against wholesale and furious +attacks. + +Finally the army began to move, but so slowly and after so much delay +that they did not reach Will's Creek until the middle of May. Here +came another exasperating pause, relieved only by Franklin, who, +by giving his own time, ability, and money, supplied the necessary +wagons. Then they pushed on again, but with the utmost slowness. With +supreme difficulty they made an elaborate road over the mountains as +they marched, and did not reach the Little Meadows until June 16. Then +at last Braddock turned to his young aide for the counsel which had +already been proffered and rejected many times. Washington advised the +division of the army, so that the main body could hurry forward in +light marching order while a detachment remained behind and brought +up the heavy baggage. This plan was adopted, and the army started +forward, still too heavily burdened, as Washington thought, but in +somewhat better trim for the wilderness than before. Their progress, +quickened as it was, still seemed slow to Washington, but he was taken +ill with a fever, and finally was compelled by Braddock to stop for +rest at the ford of Youghiogany. He made Braddock promise that he +should be brought up before the army reached Fort Duquesne, and wrote +to his friend Orme that he would not miss the impending battle for +five hundred pounds. + +As soon as his fever abated a little he left Colonel Dunbar, and, +being unable to sit on a horse, was conveyed to the front in a wagon, +coming up with the army on July 8. He was just in time, for the next +day the troops forded the Monongahela and marched to attack the fort. +The splendid appearance of the soldiers as they crossed the river +roused Washington's enthusiasm; but he was not without misgivings. +Franklin had already warned Braddock against the danger of surprise, +and had been told with a sneer that while these savages might be +a formidable enemy to raw American militia, they could make no +impression on disciplined troops. Now at the last moment Washington +warned the general again and was angrily rebuked. + +The troops marched on in ordered ranks, glittering and beautiful. +Suddenly firing was heard in the front, and presently the van was +flung back on the main body. Yells and war-whoops resounded on every +side, and an unseen enemy poured in a deadly fire. Washington begged +Braddock to throw his men into the woods, but all in vain. Fight in +platoons they must, or not at all. The result was that they did not +fight at all. They became panic-stricken, and huddled together, +overcome with fear, until at last when Braddock was mortally wounded +they broke in wild rout and fled. Of the regular troops, seven +hundred, and of the officers, who showed the utmost bravery, sixty-two +out of eighty-six, were killed or wounded. Two hundred Frenchmen and +six hundred Indians achieved this signal victory. The only thing +that could be called fighting on the English side was done by +the Virginians, "the raw American militia," who, spread out as +skirmishers, met their foes on their own ground, and were cut off +after a desperate resistance almost to a man. + +Washington at the outset flung himself headlong into the fight. He +rode up and down the field, carrying orders and striving to rally "the +dastards," as he afterwards called the regular troops. He endeavored +to bring up the artillery, but the men would not serve the guns, +although to set an example he aimed and discharged one himself. All +through that dreadful carnage he rode fiercely about, raging with the +excitement of battle, and utterly exposed from beginning to end. Even +now it makes the heart beat quicker to think of him amid the smoke and +slaughter as he dashed hither and thither, his face glowing and his +eyes shining with the fierce light of battle, leading on his own +Virginians, and trying to stay the tide of disaster. He had two horses +shot under him and four bullets through his coat. The Indians thought +he bore a charmed life, while his death was reported in the colonies, +together with his dying speech, which, he dryly wrote to his brother, +he had not yet composed. + +When the troops broke it was Washington who gathered the fugitives and +brought off the dying general. It was he who rode on to meet Dunbar, +and rallying the fugitives enabled the wretched remnants to take up +their march for the settlements. He it was who laid Braddock in the +grave four days after the defeat, and read over the dead the solemn +words of the English service. Wise, sensible, and active in the +advance, splendidly reckless on the day of battle, cool and collected +on the retreat, Washington alone emerged from that history of disaster +with added glory. Again he comes before us as, above all things, +the fighting man, hot-blooded and fierce in action, and utterly +indifferent to the danger which excited and delighted him. But the +earlier lesson had not been useless. He now showed a prudence and +wisdom in counsel which were not apparent in the first of his +campaigns, and he no longer thought that mere courage was +all-sufficient, or that any enemy could be despised. He was plainly +one of those who could learn. His first experience had borne good +fruit, and now he had been taught a series of fresh and valuable +lessons. Before his eyes had been displayed the most brilliant +European discipline, both in camp and on the march. He had studied +and absorbed it all, talking with veterans and hearing from them many +things that he could have acquired nowhere else. Once more had he +been taught, in a way not to be forgotten, that it is never well to +underrate one's opponent. He had looked deeper, too, and had seen what +the whole continent soon understood, that English troops were not +invincible, that they could be beaten by Indians, and that they were +after all much like other men. This was the knowledge, fatal in +after days to British supremacy, which Braddock's defeat brought to +Washington and to the colonists, and which was never forgotten. Could +he have looked into the future, he would have seen also in this +ill-fated expedition an epitome of much future history. The expedition +began with stupid contempt toward America and all things American, and +ended in ruin and defeat. It was a bitter experience, much heeded by +the colonists, but disregarded by England, whose indifference was paid +for at a heavy cost. + +After the hasty retreat, Colonel Dunbar, stricken with panic, fled +onward to Philadelphia, abandoning everything, and Virginia was left +naturally in a state of great alarm. The assembly came together, and +at last, thoroughly frightened, voted abundant money, and ordered a +regiment of a thousand men to be raised. Washington, who had returned +to Mount Vernon ill and worn-out, was urged to solicit the command, +but it was not his way to solicit, and he declined to do so now. +August 14, he wrote to his mother: "If it is in my power to avoid +going to the Ohio again, I shall; but if the command is pressed upon +me by the general voice of the country, and offered upon such terms as +cannot be objected against, it would reflect dishonor on me to refuse +it." The same day he was offered the command of all the Virginian +forces on his own terms, and accepted. Virginia believed in +Washington, and he was ready to obey her call. + +He at once assumed command and betook himself to Winchester, a general +without an army, but still able to check by his presence the existing +panic, and ready to enter upon the trying, dreary, and fruitless work +that lay before him. In April, 1757, he wrote: "I have been posted +then, for more than twenty months past, upon our cold and barren +frontiers, to perform, I think I may say, impossibilities; that is, to +protect from the cruel incursions of a crafty, savage enemy a line of +inhabitants, of more than three hundred and fifty miles in extent, +with a force inadequate to the task." This terse statement covers +all that can be said of the next three years. It was a long struggle +against a savage foe in front, and narrowness, jealousy, and stupidity +behind; apparently without any chance of effecting anything, or +gaining any glory or reward. Troops were voted, but were raised with +difficulty, and when raised were neglected and ill-treated by the +wrangling governor and assembly, which caused much ill-suppressed +wrath in the breast of the commander-in-chief, who labored day and +night to bring about better discipline in camp, and who wrote long +letters to Williamsburg recounting existing evils and praying for a +new militia law. + +The troops, in fact, were got out with vast difficulty even under the +most stinging necessity, and were almost worthless when they came. +Of one "noble captain" who refused to come, Washington wrote: "With +coolness and moderation this great captain answered that his wife, +family, and corn were all at stake; so were those of his soldiers; +therefore it was impossible for him to come. Such is the example +of the officers; such the behavior of the men; and upon such +circumstances depends the safety of our country!" But while the +soldiers were neglected, and the assembly faltered, and the militia +disobeyed, the French and Indians kept at work on the long, exposed +frontier. There panic reigned, farmhouses and villages went up in +smoke, and the fields were reddened with slaughter at each fresh +incursion. Gentlemen in Williamsburg bore these misfortunes with +reasonable fortitude, but Washington raged against the abuses and the +inaction, and vowed that nothing but the imminent danger prevented his +resignation. "The supplicating tears of the women," he wrote, "and +moving petitions of the men melt me into such deadly sorrow that +I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I could offer myself +a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, provided that would +contribute to the people's ease." This is one of the rare flashes +of personal feeling which disclose the real man, warm of heart and +temper, full of human sympathy, and giving vent to hot indignation in +words which still ring clear and strong across the century that has +come and gone. + +Serious troubles, moreover, were complicated by petty annoyances. A +Maryland captain, at the head of thirty men, undertook to claim rank +over the Virginian commander-in-chief because he had held a king's +commission; and Washington was obliged to travel to Boston in order to +have the miserable thing set right by Governor Shirley. This affair +settled, he returned to take up again the old disheartening struggle, +and his outspoken condemnation of Dinwiddie's foolish schemes and of +the shortcomings of the government began to raise up backbiters +and malcontents at Williamsburg. "My orders," he said, "are dark, +doubtful, and uncertain; to-day approved, to-morrow condemned. Left +to act and proceed at hazard, accountable for the consequences, and +blamed without the benefit of defense." He determined nevertheless +to bear with his trials until the arrival of Lord Loudon, the new +commander-in-chief, from whom he expected vigor and improvement. +Unfortunately he was destined to have only fresh disappointment from +the new general, for Lord Loudon was merely one more incompetent man +added to the existing confusion. He paid no heed to the South, matters +continued to go badly in the North, and Virginia was left helpless. So +Washington toiled on with much discouragement, and the disagreeable +attacks upon him increased. That it should have been so is not +surprising, for he wrote to the governor, who now held him in much +disfavor, to the speaker, and indeed to every one, with a most galling +plainness. He was only twenty-five, be it remembered, and his high +temper was by no means under perfect control. He was anything but +diplomatic at that period of his life, and was far from patient, using +language with much sincerity and force, and indulging in a blunt irony +of rather a ferocious kind. When he was accused finally of getting up +reports of imaginary dangers, his temper gave way entirely. He wrote +wrathfully to the governor for justice, and added in a letter to +his friend, Captain Peachey: "As to Colonel C.'s gross and infamous +reflections on my conduct last spring, it will be needless, I dare +say, to observe further at this time than that the liberty which he +has been pleased to allow himself in sporting with my character is +little else than a comic entertainment, discovering at one view his +passionate fondness for your friend, his inviolable love of truth, +his unfathomable knowledge, and the masterly strokes of his wisdom in +displaying it. You are heartily welcome to make use of any letter or +letters which I may at any time have written to you; for although +I keep no copies of epistles to my friends, nor can remember the +contents of all of them, yet I am sensible that the narrations are +just, and that truth and honesty will appear in my writings; of which, +therefore, I shall not be ashamed, though criticism may censure my +style." + +Perhaps a little more patience would have produced better results, +but it is pleasant to find one man, in that period of stupidity and +incompetency, who was ready to free his mind in this refreshing way. +The only wonder is that he was not driven from his command. That they +insisted on keeping him there shows beyond everything that he +had already impressed himself so strongly on Virginia that the +authorities, although they smarted under his attacks, did not dare to +meddle with him. Dinwiddie and the rest could foil him in obtaining a +commission in the king's army, but they could not shake his hold upon +the people. + +In the winter of 1758 his health broke down completely. He was so +ill that he thought that his constitution was seriously injured; +and therefore withdrew to Mount Vernon, where he slowly recovered. +Meantime a great man came at last to the head of affairs in England, +and inspired by William Pitt, fleets and armies went forth to conquer. +Reviving at the prospect, Washington offered his services to General +Forbes, who had come to undertake the task which Braddock had failed +to accomplish. Once more English troops appeared, and a large army +was gathered. Then the old story began again, and Washington, whose +proffered aid had been gladly received, chafed and worried all summer +at the fresh spectacle of delay and stupidity which was presented +to him. His advice was disregarded, and all the weary business of +building new roads through the wilderness was once more undertaken. A +detachment, sent forward contrary to his views, met with the fate of +Braddock, and as the summer passed, and autumn changed to winter, it +looked as if nothing would be gained in return for so much toil and +preparation. But Pitt had conquered the Ohio in Canada, news arrived +of the withdrawal of the French, the army pressed on, and, with +Washington in the van, marched into the smoking ruins of Fort +Duquesne, henceforth to be known to the world as Fort Pitt. + +So closed the first period in Washington's public career. We have seen +him pass through it in all its phases. It shows him as an adventurous +pioneer, as a reckless frontier fighter, and as a soldier of great +promise. He learned many things in this time, and was taught much in +the hard school of adversity. In the effort to conquer Frenchmen and +Indians he studied the art of war, and at the same time he learned +to bear with and to overcome the dullness and inefficiency of the +government he served. Thus he was forced to practise self-control in +order to attain his ends, and to acquire skill in the management of +men. There could have been no better training for the work he was to +do in the after years, and the future showed how deeply he profited by +it. Let us turn now, for a moment, to the softer and pleasanter side +of life, and having seen what Washington was, and what he did as a +fighting man, let us try to know him in the equally important and far +more attractive domain of private and domestic life. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +LOVE AND MARRIAGE + + +Lewis Willis, of Fredericksburg, who was at school with Washington, +used to speak of him as an unusually studious and industrious boy, but +recalled one occasion when he distinguished himself and surprised his +schoolmates by "romping with one of the largest girls."[1] Half a +century later, when the days of romping were long over and gone, a +gentleman writing of a Mrs. Hartley, whom Washington much admired, +said that the general always liked a fine woman.[2] It is certain that +from romping he passed rapidly to more serious forms of expressing +regard, for by the time he was fourteen he had fallen deeply in love +with Mary Bland of Westmoreland, whom he calls his "Lowland Beauty," +and to whom he wrote various copies of verses, preserved amid the +notes of surveys, in his diary for 1747-48. The old tradition +identified the "Lowland Beauty" with Miss Lucy Grymes, perhaps +correctly, and there are drafts of letters addressed to "Dear Sally," +which suggest that the mistake in identification might have arisen +from the fact that there were several ladies who answered to that +description. In the following sentence from the draft of a letter to a +masculine sympathizer, also preserved in the tell-tale diary of 1748, +there is certainly an indication that the constancy of the lover was +not perfect. "Dear Friend Robin," he wrote: "My place of residence at +present is at his Lordship's, where I might, were my heart disengaged, +pass my time very pleasantly, as there is a very agreeable young lady +in the same house, Colonel George Fairfax's wife's sister. But that +only adds fuel to the fire, as being often and unavoidably in company +with her revives my former passion for your Lowland Beauty; whereas +were I to live more retired from young women, I might in some measure +alleviate my sorrow by burying that chaste and troublesome passion in +oblivion; I am very well assured that this will be the only antidote +or remedy." Our gloomy young gentleman, however, did not take to +solitude to cure the pangs of despised love, but preceded to calm his +spirits by the society of this same sister-in-law of George Fairfax, +Miss Mary Cary. One "Lowland Beauty," Lucy Grymes, married Henry Lee, +and became the mother of "Legion Harry," a favorite officer and friend +of Washington in the Revolution, and the grandmother of Robert E. Lee, +the great soldier of the Southern Confederacy. The affair with Miss +Cary went on apparently for some years, fitfully pursued in the +intervals of war and Indian fighting, and interrupted also by matters +of a more tender nature. The first diversion occurred about 1752, when +we find Washington writing to William Fauntleroy, at Richmond, that he +proposed to come to his house to see his sister, Miss Betsy, and that +he hoped for a revocation of her former cruel sentence.[3] Miss Betsy, +however, seems to have been obdurate, and we hear no more of love +affairs until much later, and then in connection with matters of a +graver sort. + +[Footnote 1: Quoted from the Willis MS. by Mr. Conway, in _Magazine of +American History_, March, 1887, p. 196.] + +[Footnote 2: _Magazine of American History_, i. 324.] + +[Footnote 3: _Historical Magazine_, 3d series, 1873. Letter +communicated by Fitzhugh Lee.] + +[Illustration: Mary Cary] + +When Captain Dagworthy, commanding thirty men in the Maryland +service, undertook in virtue of a king's commission to outrank the +commander-in-chief of the Virginian forces, Washington made up his +mind that he would have this question at least finally and properly +settled. So, as has been said, he went to Boston, saw Governor +Shirley, and had the dispute determined in his own favor. He made +the journey on horseback, and had with him two of his aides and two +servants. An old letter, luckily preserved, tells us how he looked, +for it contains orders to his London agents for various articles, sent +for perhaps in anticipation of this very expedition. In Braddock's +campaign the young surveyor and frontier soldier had been thrown among +a party of dashing, handsomely equipped officers fresh from London, +and their appearance had engaged his careful attention. Washington was +a thoroughly simple man in all ways, but he was also a man of +taste and a lover of military discipline. He had a keen sense of +appropriateness, a valuable faculty which stood him in good stead in +grave as well as trivial matters all through his career, and which in +his youth came out most strongly in the matter of manners and personal +appearance. He was a handsome man, and liked to be well dressed and to +have everything about himself or his servants of the best. Yet he +was not a mere imitator of fashions or devoted to fine clothes. The +American leggins and fringed hunting-shirt had a strong hold on his +affections, and he introduced them into Forbes's army, and again into +the army of the Revolution, as the best uniform for the backwoods +fighters. But he learned with Braddock that the dress of parade has as +real military value as that of service, and when he traveled northward +to settle about Captain Dagworthy, he felt justly that he now was +going on parade for the first time as the representative of his troops +and his colony. Therefore with excellent sense he dressed as befitted +the occasion, and at the same time gratified his own taste. + +Thanks to these precautions, the little cavalcade that left Virginia +on February 4, 1756, must have looked brilliant enough as they rode +away through the dark woods. First came the colonel, mounted of course +on the finest of animals, for he loved and understood horses from the +time when he rode bareback in the pasture to those later days when he +acted as judge at a horse-race and saw his own pet colt "Magnolia" +beaten. In this expedition he wore, of course, his uniform of buff +and blue, with a white and scarlet cloak over his shoulders, and a +sword-knot of red and gold. His "horse furniture" was of the best +London make, trimmed with "livery lace," and the Washington arms were +engraved upon the housings. Close by his side rode his two aides, +likewise in buff and blue, and behind came his servants, dressed in +the Washington colors of white and scarlet and wearing hats laced with +silver. Thus accoutred, they all rode on together to the North. + +The colonel's fame had gone before him, for the hero of Braddock's +stricken field and the commander of the Virginian forces was known by +reputation throughout the colonies. Every door flew open to him as he +passed, and every one was delighted to welcome the young soldier. He +was dined and wined and feted in Philadelphia, and again in New York, +where he fell in love at apparently short notice with the heiress Mary +Philipse, the sister-in-law of his friend Beverly Robinson. Tearing +himself away from these attractions he pushed on to Boston, then +the most important city on the continent, and the head-quarters of +Shirley, the commander-in-chief. The little New England capital had at +that time a society which, rich for those days, was relieved from its +Puritan sombreness by the gayety and life brought in by the royal +officers. Here Washington lingered ten days, talking war and politics +with the governor, visiting in state the "great and general court," +dancing every night at some ball, dining with and being feted by the +magnates of the town. His business done, he returned to New York, +tarried there awhile for the sake of the fair dame, but came to no +conclusions, and then, like the soldier in the song, he gave his +bridle-rein a shake and rode away again to the South, and to the +harassed and ravaged frontier of Virginia. + +How much this little interlude, pushed into a corner as it has been by +the dignity of history,--how much it tells of the real man! How the +statuesque myth and the priggish myth and the dull and solemn myth +melt away before it! Wise and strong, a bearer of heavy responsibility +beyond his years, daring in fight and sober in judgment, we have here +the other and the more human side of Washington. One loves to picture +that gallant, generous, youthful figure, brilliant in color and manly +in form, riding gayly on from one little colonial town to another, +feasting, dancing, courting, and making merry. For him the myrtle and +ivy were entwined with the laurel, and fame was sweetened by youth. He +was righteously ready to draw from life all the good things which +fate and fortune then smiling upon him could offer, and he took his +pleasure frankly, with an honest heart. + +We know that he succeeded in his mission and put the captain of thirty +men in his proper place, but no one now can tell how deeply he was +affected by the charms of Miss Philipse. The only certain fact is that +he was able not long after to console himself very effectually. Riding +away from Mount Vernon once more, in the spring of 1758, this time to +Williamsburg with dispatches, he stopped at William's Ferry to dine +with his friend Major Chamberlayne, and there he met Martha Dandridge, +the widow of Daniel Parke Custis. She was young, pretty, intelligent, +and an heiress, and her society seemed to attract the young soldier. +The afternoon wore away, the horses came to the door at the appointed +time, and after being walked back and forth for some hours were +returned to the stable. The sun went down, and still the colonel +lingered. The next morning he rode away with his dispatches, but on +his return he paused at the White House, the home of Mrs. Custis, and +then and there plighted his troth with the charming widow. The wooing +was brief and decisive, and the successful lover departed for the +camp, to feel more keenly than ever the delays of the British officers +and the shortcomings of the colonial government. As soon as Fort +Duquesne had fallen he hurried home, resigned his commission in the +last week of December, and was married on January 6, 1759. It was a +brilliant wedding party which assembled on that winter day in the +little church near the White House. There were gathered Francis +Fauquier, the gay, free-thinking, high-living governor, gorgeous in +scarlet and gold; British officers, redcoated and gold-laced, and all +the neighboring gentry in the handsomest clothes that London credit +could furnish. The bride was attired in silk and satin, laces and +brocade, with pearls on her neck and in her ears; while the bridegroom +appeared in blue and silver trimmed with scarlet, and with gold +buckles at his knees and on his shoes. After the ceremony the bride +was taken home in a coach and six, her husband riding beside her, +mounted on a splendid horse and followed by all the gentlemen of the +party. + +[Illustration: Mary Morris born Mary Philipse] + +The sunshine and glitter of the wedding-day must have appeared to +Washington deeply appropriate, for he certainly seemed to have all +that heart of man could desire. Just twenty-seven, in the first flush +of young manhood, keen of sense and yet wise in experience, life +must have looked very fair and smiling. He had left the army with a +well-earned fame, and had come home to take the wife of his choice and +enjoy the good-will and respect of all men. While away on his last +campaign he had been elected a member of the House of Burgesses, and +when he took his seat on removing to Williamsburg, three months after +his marriage, Mr. Robinson, the speaker, thanked him publicly in +eloquent words for his services to the country. Washington rose to +reply, but he was so utterly unable to talk about himself that he +stood before the House stammering and blushing, until the speaker +said, "Sit down, Mr. Washington; your modesty equals your valor, and +that surpasses the power of any language I possess." It is an old +story, and as graceful as it is old, but it was all very grateful to +Washington, especially as the words of the speaker bodied forth the +feelings of Virginia. Such an atmosphere, filled with deserved respect +and praise, was pleasant to begin with, and then he had everything +else too. + +He not only continued to sit in the House year after year and help to +rule Virginia, but he served on the church vestry, and so held in his +hands the reins of local government. He had married a charming +woman, simple, straightforward, and sympathetic, free from gossip or +pretense, and as capable in practical matters as he was himself. By +right of birth a member of the Virginian aristocracy, he had widened +and strengthened his connections through his wife. A man of handsome +property by the death of Lawrence Washington's daughter, he had become +by his marriage one of the richest men of the country. Acknowledged +to be the first soldier on the continent, respected and trusted in +public, successful and happy in private life, he had attained before +he was thirty to all that Virginia could give of wealth, prosperity, +and honor, a fact of which he was well aware, for there never breathed +a man more wisely contented than George Washington at this period. + +He made his home at Mount Vernon, adding many acres to the estate, and +giving to it his best attention. It is needless to say that he was +successful, for that was the ease with everything he undertook. He +loved country life, and he was the best and most prosperous planter in +Virginia, which was really a more difficult achievement than the mere +statement implies. Genuinely profitable farming in Virginia was not +common, for the general system was a bad one. A single great staple, +easily produced by the reckless exhaustion of land, and varying widely +in the annual value of crops, bred improvidence and speculation. +Everything was bought upon long credits, given by the London +merchants, and this, too, contributed largely to carelessness and +waste. The chronic state of a planter in a business way was one of +debt, and the lack of capital made his conduct of affairs extravagant +and loose. With all his care and method Washington himself was often +pinched for ready money, and it was only by his thoroughness and +foresight that he prospered and made money while so many of his +neighbors struggled with debt and lived on in easy luxury, not knowing +what the morrow might bring forth. + +A far more serious trouble than bad business methods was one which was +little heeded at the moment, but which really lay at the foundation of +the whole system of society and business. This was the character of +the labor by which the plantations were worked. Slave labor is well +known now to be the most expensive and the worst form of labor that +can be employed. In the middle of the eighteenth century, however, its +evils were not appreciated, either from an economical or a moral point +of view. This is not the place to discuss the subject of African +slavery in America. But it is important to know Washington's opinions +in regard to an institution which was destined to have such a powerful +influence upon the country, and it seems most appropriate to consider +those opinions at the moment when slaves became a practical factor in +his life as a Virginian planter. + +Washington accepted the system as he found it, as most men accept the +social arrangements to which they are born. He grew up in a world +where slavery had always existed, and where its rightfulness had never +been questioned. Being on the frontier, occupied with surveying and +with war, he never had occasion to really consider the matter at all +until he found himself at the head of large estates, with his own +prosperity dependent on the labor of slaves. The first practical +question, therefore, was how to employ this labor to the best +advantage. A man of his clear perceptions soon discovered the defects +of the system, and he gave great attention to feeding and clothing +his slaves, and to their general management. Parkinson[1] says in a +general way that Washington treated his slaves harshly, spoke to them +sharply, and maintained a military discipline, to which he attributed +the General's rare success as a planter. There can be no doubt of +the success, and the military discipline is probably true, but the +statement as to harshness is unsupported by any other authority. +Indeed, Parkinson even contradicts it himself, for he says elsewhere +that Washington never bought or sold a slave, a proof of the highest +and most intelligent humanity; and he adds in his final sketch of the +General's character, that he "was incapable of wrong-doing, but did to +all men as he would they should do to him. Therefore it is not to be +supposed that he would injure the negro." This agrees with what we +learn from all other sources. Humane by nature, he conceived a great +interest and pity for these helpless beings, and treated them with +kindness and forethought. In a word, he was a wise and good master, +as well as a successful one, and the condition of his slaves was +as happy, and their labor as profitable, as was possible to such a +system. + +[Footnote 1: _Tour in America_, 1798-1800.] + +So the years rolled by; the war came and then the making of the +government, and Washington's thoughts were turned more and more, as +was the case with all the men of his time in that era of change and +of new ideas, to the consideration of human slavery in its moral, +political, and social aspects. To trace the course of his opinions +in detail is needless. It is sufficient to summarize them, for the +results of his reflection and observation are more important than the +processes by which they were reached. Washington became convinced that +the whole system was thoroughly bad, as well as utterly repugnant to +the ideas upon which the Revolution was fought and the government of +the United States founded. With a prescience wonderful for those days +and on that subject, he saw that slavery meant the up-growth in the +United States of two systems so radically hostile, both socially and +economically, that they could lead only to a struggle for political +supremacy, which in its course he feared would imperil the Union. For +this reason he deprecated the introduction of the slavery question +into the debates of the first Congress, because he realized its +character, and he did not believe that the Union or the government +at that early day could bear the strain which in this way would be +produced. At the same time he felt that a right solution must be found +or inconceivable evils would ensue. The inherent and everlasting wrong +of the system made its continuance, to his mind, impossible. While +it existed, he believed that the laws which surrounded it should be +maintained, because he thought that to violate these only added one +wrong to another. He also doubted, as will be seen in a later chapter, +where his conversation with John Bernard is quoted, whether the +negroes could be immediately emancipated with safety either to +themselves or to the whites, in their actual condition of ignorance, +illiteracy, and helplessness. The plan which he favored, and which, +it would seem, was his hope and reliance, was first the checking +of importation, followed by a gradual emancipation, with proper +compensation to the owners and suitable preparation and education for +the slaves. He told the clergymen Asbury and Coke, when they visited +him for that purpose, that he was in favor of emancipation, and was +ready to write a letter to the assembly to that effect.[1] He wished +fervently that such a spirit might take possession of the people of +the country, but he wrote to Lafayette that he despaired of seeing it. +When he died he did all that lay within his power to impress his views +upon his countrymen by directing that all his slaves should be set +free on the death of his wife. His precepts and his example in this +grave matter went unheeded for many years by the generations which +came after him. But now that slavery is dead, to the joy of all men, +it is well to remember that on this terrible question Washington's +opinions were those of a humane man, impatient of wrong, and of a +noble and far-seeing statesman, watchful of the evils that threatened +his country.[2] + +[Footnote 1: _Magazine of American History_, 1880, p. 158.] + +[Footnote 2: For some expressions of Washington's opinions on slavery, +see Sparks, viii. 414, ix. 159-163, and x. 224.] + +After this digression let us return to the Virginian farmer, whose +mind was not disturbed as yet by thoughts of the destiny of the United +States, or considerations of the rights of man, but who was much +exercised by the task of making an honest income out of his estates. +To do this he grappled with details as firmly as he did with the +general system under which all plantations in that day were carried +on. He understood every branch of farming; he was on the alert for +every improvement; he rose early, worked steadily, gave to everything +his personal supervision, kept his own accounts with wonderful +exactness, and naturally enough his brands of flour went unquestioned +everywhere, his credit was high, and he made money--so far as it +was possible under existing conditions. Like Shakespeare, as Bishop +Blougram has it, he + + "Saved money, spent it, owned the worth of things." + +He had no fine and senseless disregard for money or the good things of +this world, but on the contrary saw in them not the value attached to +them by vulgar minds, but their true worth. He was a solid, square, +evenly-balanced man in those days, believing that whatever he did was +worth doing well. So he farmed, as he fought and governed, better than +anybody else. + +While thus looking after his own estates at home, he went further +afield in search of investments, keeping a shrewd eye on the western +lands, and buying wisely and judiciously whenever he had the +opportunity. He also constituted himself now, as in a later time, the +champion of the soldiers, for whom he had the truest sympathy and +affection, and a large part of the correspondence of this period is +devoted to their claims for the lands granted them by the assembly. +He distinguished carefully among them, however, those who were +undeserving, and to the major of the regiment, who had been excluded +from the public thanks on account of cowardice at the Great Meadows, +he wrote as follows: "Your impertinent letter was delivered to me +yesterday. As I am not accustomed to receive such from any man, nor +would have taken the same language from you personally without letting +you feel some marks of my resentment, I would advise you to be +cautious in writing me a second of the same tenor. But for your +stupidity and sottishness you might have known, by attending to the +public gazette, that you had your full quantity of ten thousand acres +of land allowed you. But suppose you had really fallen short, do you +think your superlative merit entitles you to greater indulgence than +others?... All my concern is that I ever engaged in behalf of so +ungrateful a fellow as you are." The writer of this letter, be it said +in passing, was the man whom Mr. Weems and others tell us was knocked +down before his soldiers, and then apologized to his assailant. It may +be suspected that it was well for the recipient of this letter that +he did not have a personal interview with its author, and it may +be doubted if he ever sought one subsequently. Just, generous, and +magnanimous to an extraordinary degree, Washington had a dangerous +temper, held well under control, but blazing out now and again against +injustice, insolence, or oppression. He was a peaceful man, leading a +peaceful life, but the fighting spirit only slumbered, and it +would break out at wrong of any sort, in a way which was extremely +unpleasant and threatening to those who aroused it. + +Apart from lands and money and the management of affairs, public and +private, there were many other interests of varied nature which all +had their share of Washington's time and thought. He was a devoted +husband, and gave to his stepchildren the most affectionate care. He +watched over and protected them, and when the daughter died, after a +long and wasting illness, in 1773, he mourned for her as if she +had been his own, with all the tenderness of a deep and reserved +affection. The boy, John Custis, he made his friend and companion from +the beginning, and his letters to the lad and about him are wise and +judicious in the highest degree. He spent much time and thought on the +question of education, and after securing the best instructors took +the boy to New York and entered him at Columbia College in 1773. Young +Custis, however, did not remain there long, for he had fallen in love, +and the following year was married to Eleanor Calvert, not without +some misgivings on the part of Washington, who had observed his ward's +somewhat flighty disposition, and who gave a great deal of anxious +thought to his future. At home as abroad he was an undemonstrative +man, but he had abundance of that real affection which labors for +those to whom it goes out more unselfishly and far more effectually +than that which bubbles and boils upon the surface like a shallow, +noisy brook. + +From the suggestions that he made in regard to young Custis, it is +evident that Washington valued and respected education, and that he +had that regard for learning for its own sake which always exists +in large measure in every thoughtful man. He read well, even if his +active life prevented his reading much, as we can see by his vigorous +English, and by his occasional allusions to history. From his London +orders we see, too, that everything about his house must have denoted +that its possessor had refinement and taste. His intense sense +of propriety and unfailing instinct for what was appropriate are +everywhere apparent. His dress, his furniture, his harnesses, the +things for the children, all show the same fondness for simplicity, +and yet a constant insistence that everything should be the best of +its kind. We can learn a good deal about any man by the ornaments of +his house, and by the portraits which hang on his walls; for these +dumb things tell us whom among the great men of earth the owner +admires, and indicate the tastes he best loves to gratify. When +Washington first settled with his wife at Mount Vernon, he ordered +from Europe the busts of Alexander the Great, Charles XII. of Sweden, +Julius Caesar, Frederick of Prussia, Marlborough, and Prince Eugene, +and in addition he asked for statuettes of "two wild beasts." The +combination of soldier and statesman is the predominant admiration, +then comes the reckless and splendid military adventurer, and lastly +wild life and the chase. There is no mistaking the ideas and fancies +of the man who penned this order which has drifted down to us from the +past. + +But as Washington's active life was largely out of doors, so too were +his pleasures. He loved the fresh open-air existence of the woods +and fields, and there he found his one great amusement. He shot and +fished, but did not care much for these pursuits, for his hobby was +hunting, which gratified at once his passion for horses and dogs and +his love for the strong excitement of the chase, when dashed with just +enough danger to make it really fascinating. He showed in his sport +the same thoroughness and love of perfection that he displayed in +everything else. His stables were filled with the best horses that +Virginia could furnish. There were the "blooded coach-horses" for Mrs. +Washington's carriage, "Magnolia," a full-blooded Arabian, used by +his owner for the road, the ponies for the children, and finally, the +high-bred hunters Chinkling and Valiant, Ajax and Blueskin, and the +rest, all duly set down in the register in the handwriting of the +master himself. His first visit in the morning was to the stables; +the next to the kennels to inspect and criticise the hounds, also +methodically registered and described, so that we can read the names +of Vulcan and Ringwood, Singer and Truelove, Music and Sweetlips, to +which the Virginian woods once echoed nearly a century and a half ago. +His hounds were the subject of much thought, and were so constantly +and critically drafted as to speed, keenness, and bottom, that when in +full cry they ran so closely bunched that tradition says, in classic +phrase, they could have been covered with a blanket. The hounds met +three times a week in the season, usually at Mount Vernon, sometimes +at Belvoir. They would get off at daybreak, Washington in the midst of +his hounds, splendidly mounted, generally on his favorite Blueskin, a +powerful iron-gray horse of great speed and endurance. He wore a blue +coat, scarlet waistcoat, buckskin breeches, and a velvet cap. Closely +followed by his huntsman and the neighboring gentlemen, with the +ladies, headed, very likely, by Mrs. Washington in a scarlet habit, +he would ride to the appointed covert and throw in. There was no +difficulty in finding, and then away they would go, usually after a +gray fox, sometimes after a big black fox, rarely to be caught. Most +of the country was wild and unfenced, rough in footing, and offering +hard and dangerous going for the horses, but Washington always made it +a rule to stay with his hounds. Cautious or timid riders, if they were +so minded, could gallop along the wood roads with the ladies, and +content themselves with glimpses of the hunt, but the master rode at +the front. The fields, it is to be feared, were sometimes small, but +Washington hunted even if he had only his stepson or was quite alone. + +His diaries abound with allusions to the sport. "Went a-hunting with +Jacky Custis, and catched a fox after three hours chase; found it in +the creek." "Mr. Bryan Fairfax, Mr. Grayson, and Phil. Alexander came +home by sunrise. Hunted and catched a fox with these. Lord Fairfax, +his brother, and Colonel Fairfax, all of whom, with Mr. Fairfax and +Mr. Wilson of England, dined here." Again, November 26 and 29, "Hunted +again with the same party." "1768, Jan. 8th. Hunting again with same +company. Started a fox and run him 4 hours. Took the hounds off at +night." "Jan. 15. Shooting." "16. At home all day with cards; it +snowing." "23. Rid to Muddy Hole and directed paths to be cut for +foxhunting." "Feb. 12. Catched 2 foxes." "Feb. 13. Catched 2 more +foxes." "Mar. 2. Catched fox with bob'd tail and cut ears after +7 hours chase, in which most of the dogs were worsted." "Dec. 5. +Fox-hunting with Lord Fairfax and his brother and Colonel Fairfax. +Started a fox and lost it. Dined at Belvoir and returned in the +evening."[1] + +[Footnote 1: MS. Diaries in State Department.] + +So the entries run on, for he hunted almost every day in the season, +usually with success, but always with persistence. Like all true +sportsmen Washington had a horror of illicit sport of any kind, and +although he shot comparatively little, he was much annoyed by a +vagabond who lurked in the creeks and inlets on his estate, and +slaughtered his canvas-back ducks. Hearing the report of a gun one +morning, he rode through the bushes and saw his poaching friend just +shoving off in a canoe. The rascal raised his gun and covered his +pursuer, whereupon Washington, the cold-blooded and patient person +so familiar in the myths, dashed his horse headlong into the water, +seized the gun, grasped the canoe, and dragging it ashore pulled the +man out of the boat and beat him soundly. If the man had yielded at +once he would probably have got off easily enough, but when he put +Washington's life in imminent peril, the wild fighting spirit flared +up as usual. + +The hunting season was of course that of the most lavish hospitality. +There was always a great deal of dining about, but Mount Vernon was +the chief resort, and its doors, ever open, were flung far back when +people came for a meet, or gathered to talk over the events of a good +run. Company was the rule and solitude the exception. When only the +family were at dinner, the fact was written down in the diary with +great care as an unusual event, for Washington was the soul of +hospitality, and although he kept early hours, he loved society and a +houseful of people. Profoundly reserved and silent as to himself, +a lover of solitude so far as his own thoughts and feelings were +concerned, he was far from being a solitary man in the ordinary +acceptation of the word. He liked life and gayety and conversation, he +liked music and dancing or a game of cards when the weather was bad, +and he enjoyed heartily the presence of young people and of his own +friends. So Mount Vernon was always full of guests, and the master +noted in his diary that although he owned more than a hundred cows he +was obliged, nevertheless, to buy butter, which suggests an experience +not unknown to gentlemen farmers of any period, and also that company +was never lacking in that generous, open house overlooking the +Potomac. + +Beyond the bounds of his own estate he had also many occupations and +pleasures. He was a member of the House of Burgesses, diligent in his +attention to the work of governing the colony. He was diligent also in +church affairs, and very active in the vestry, which was the seat of +local government in Virginia. We hear of him also as the manager +of lotteries, which were a common form of raising money for local +purposes, in preference to direct taxation. In a word, he was +thoroughly public-spirited, and performed all the small duties which +his position demanded in the same spirit that he afterwards brought +to the command of armies and to the government of the nation. He had +pleasure too, as well as business, away from Mount Vernon. He liked +to go to his neighbors' houses and enjoy their hospitality as they +enjoyed his. We hear of him at the courthouse on court days, where all +the country-side gathered to talk and listen to the lawyers and hear +the news, and when he went to Williamsburg his diary tells us of a +round of dinners, beginning with the governor, of visits to the club, +and of a regular attendance at the theatre whenever actors came to the +little capital. Whether at home or abroad, he took part in all the +serious pursuits, in all the interests, and in every reasonable +pleasure offered by the colony. + +Take it for all in all, it was a manly, wholesome, many-sided life. It +kept Washington young and strong, both mentally and physically. When +he was forty he flung the iron bar, at some village sports, to a point +which no competitor could approach. There was no man in all Virginia +who could ride a horse with such a powerful and assured seat. +There was no one who could journey farther on foot, and no man at +Williamsburg who showed at the governor's receptions such a commanding +presence, or who walked with such a strong and elastic step. As with +the body so with the mind. He never rusted. A practical carpenter and +smith, he brought the same quiet intelligence and firm will to the +forging of iron or the felling and sawing of trees that he had +displayed in fighting France. The life of a country gentleman did not +dull or stupefy him, or lead him to gross indulgences. He remained +well-made and athletic, strong and enduring, keen in perception and in +sense, and warm in his feelings and affections. Many men would have +become heavy and useless in these years of quiet country life, but +Washington simply ripened, and, like all slowly maturing men, grew +stronger, abler, and wiser in the happy years of rest and waiting +which intervened between youth and middle age. + +Meantime, while the current of daily life flowed on thus gently at +Mount Vernon, the great stream of public events poured by outside. It +ran very calmly at first, after the war, and then with a quickening +murmur, which increased to an ominous roar when the passage of the +Stamp Act became known in America. Washington was always a constant +attendant at the assembly, in which by sheer force of character, and +despite his lack of the talking and debating faculty, he carried more +weight than any other member. He was present on May 29, 1765, when +Patrick Henry introduced his famous resolutions and menaced the king's +government in words which rang through the continent. The resolutions +were adopted, and Washington went home, with many anxious thoughts, +to discuss the political outlook with his friend and neighbor George +Mason, one of the keenest and ablest men in Virginia. The utter +folly of the policy embodied in the Stamp Act struck Washington very +forcibly. With that foresight for which he was so remarkable, he +perceived what scarcely any one else even dreamt of, that persistence +in this course must surely lead to a violent separation from the +mother-country, and it is interesting to note in this, the first +instance when he was called upon to consider a political question of +great magnitude, his clearness of vision and grasp of mind. In what he +wrote there is no trace of the ambitious schemer, no threatening nor +blustering, no undue despondency nor excited hopes. But there is a +calm understanding of all the conditions, an entire freedom from +self-deception, and the power of seeing facts exactly as they were, +which were all characteristic of his intellectual strength, and to +which we shall need to recur again and again. + +The repeal of the Stamp Act was received by Washington with sober but +sincere pleasure. He had anticipated "direful" results and "unhappy +consequences" from its enforcement, and he freely said that those who +were instrumental in its repeal had his cordial thanks. He was no +agitator, and had not come forward in this affair, so he now retired +again to Mount Vernon, to his farming and hunting, where he remained, +watching very closely the progress of events. He had marked the +dangerous reservation of the principle in the very act of repeal; he +observed at Boston the gathering strength of what the wise ministers +of George III. called sedition; he noted the arrival of British troops +in the rebellious Puritan town; and he saw plainly enough, looming in +the background, the final appeal to arms. He wrote to Mason (April 5, +1769), that "at a time when our lordly masters in Great Britain will +be satisfied with nothing less than the deprivation of American +freedom, something should be done to avert the stroke and maintain the +liberty which we have derived from our ancestors. But the manner of +doing it, to answer the purpose effectually, is the point in question. +That no man should scruple or hesitate a moment to use arms in defense +of so valuable a blessing is clearly my opinion. Yet arms, I would beg +leave to add, should be the last resource, the _dernier ressort_." He +then urged the adoption of the only middle course, non-importation, +but he had not much hope in this expedient, although an honest desire +is evident that it may prove effectual. + +When the assembly met in May, they received the new governor, Lord +Botetourt, with much cordiality, and then fell to passing spirited +and sharp-spoken resolutions declaring their own rights and defending +Massachusetts. The result was a dissolution. Thereupon the burgesses +repaired to the Raleigh tavern, where they adopted a set of +non-importation resolutions and formed an association. The resolutions +were offered by Washington, and were the result of his quiet country +talks with Mason. When the moment for action arrived, Washington came +naturally to the front, and then returned quietly to Mount Vernon, +once more to go about his business and watch the threatening political +horizon. Virginia did not live up to this first non-importation +agreement, and formed another a year later. But Washington was not in +the habit of presenting resolutions merely for effect, and there +was nothing of the actor in his composition. His resolutions meant +business, and he lived up to them rigidly himself. Neither tea nor +any of the proscribed articles were allowed in his house. Most of +the leaders did not realize the seriousness of the situation, but +Washington, looking forward with clear and sober gaze, was in grim +earnest, and was fully conscious that when he offered his resolutions +the colony was trying the last peaceful remedy, and that the next step +would be war. + +Still he went calmly about his many affairs as usual, and gratified +the old passion for the frontier by a journey to Pittsburgh for the +sake of lands and soldiers' claims, and thence down the Ohio and into +the wilderness with his old friends the trappers and pioneers. He +visited the Indian villages as in the days of the French mission, and +noted in the savages an ominous restlessness, which seemed, like the +flight of birds, to express the dumb instinct of an approaching storm. +The clouds broke away somewhat under the kindly management of Lord +Botetourt, and then gathered again more thickly on the accession of +his successor, Lord Dunmore. With both these gentlemen Washington was +on the most friendly terms. He visited them often, and was consulted +by them, as it behooved them to consult the strongest man within the +limits of their government. Still he waited and watched, and scanned +carefully the news from the North. Before long he heard that +tea-chests were floating in Boston harbor, and then from across the +water came intelligence of the passage of the Port Bill and other +measures destined to crush to earth the little rebel town. + +When the Virginia assembly met again, they proceeded to congratulate +the governor on the arrival of Lady Dunmore, and then suddenly, as +all was flowing smoothly along, there came a letter through the +corresponding committee which Washington had helped to establish, +telling of the measures against Boston. Everything else was thrown +aside at once, a vigorous protest was entered on the journal of the +House, and June 1, when the Port Bill was to go into operation, was +appointed a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer. The first result +was prompt dissolution of the assembly. The next was another meeting +in the long room of the Raleigh tavern, where the Boston bill +was denounced, non-importation renewed, and the committee of +correspondence instructed to take steps for calling a general +congress. Events were beginning to move at last with perilous +rapidity. Washington dined with Lord Dunmore on the evening of that +day, rode with him, and appeared at her ladyship's ball the next +night, for it was not his way to bite his thumb at men from whom he +differed politically, nor to call the motives of his opponents in +question. But when the 1st of June arrived, he noted in his diary that +he fasted all day and attended the appointed services. He always meant +what he said, being of a simple nature, and when he fasted and prayed +there was something ominously earnest about it, something that his +excellency the governor, who liked the society of this agreeable +man and wise counselor, would have done well to consider and draw +conclusions from, and which he probably did not heed at all. He might +well have reflected, as he undoubtedly failed to do, that when men +of the George Washington type fast and pray on account of political +misdoings, it is well for their opponents to look to it carefully. + +Meantime Boston had sent forth appeals to form a league among the +colonies, and thereupon another meeting was held in the Raleigh +tavern, and a letter was dispatched advising the burgesses to consider +this matter of a general league and take the sense of their respective +counties. Virginia and Massachusetts had joined hands now, and they +were sweeping the rest of the continent irresistibly forward with +them. As for Washington, he returned to Mount Vernon and at once set +about taking the sense of his county, as he had agreed. Before doing +so he had some correspondence with his old friend Bryan Fairfax. The +Fairfaxes naturally sided with the mother-country, and Bryan was much +distressed by the course of Virginia, and remonstrated strongly, and +at length by letter, against violent measures. Washington replied +to him: "Does it not appear as clear as the sun in its meridian +brightness that there is a regular, systematic plan formed to fix the +right and practice of taxation on us? Does not the uniform conduct of +Parliament for some years past confirm this? Do not all the debates, +especially those just brought to us in the House of Commons, on the +side of government expressly declare that America must be taxed in +aid of the British funds, and that she has no longer resources within +herself? Is there anything to be expected from petitioning after this? +Is not the attack upon the liberty and property of the people of +Boston, before restitution of the loss to the India Company was +demanded, a plain and self-evident proof of what they are aiming at? +Do not the subsequent bills (now I dare say acts) for depriving the +Massachusetts Bay of its charter, and for transporting offenders into +other colonies, or to Great Britain for trial, where it is impossible +from the nature of the thing that justice can be obtained, convince us +that the administration is determined to stick at nothing to carry +its point? Ought we not, then, to put our virtue and fortitude to the +severest test?" He was prepared, he continued, for anything except +confiscating British debts, which struck him as dishonorable. These +were plain but pregnant questions, but what we mark in them, and +in all his letters of this time, is the absence of constitutional +discussion, of which America was then full. They are confined to a +direct presentation of the broad political question, which underlay +everything. Washington always went straight to the mark, and he now +saw, through all the dust of legal and constitutional strife, that +the only real issue was whether America was to be allowed to govern +herself in her own way or not. In the acts of the ministry he +perceived a policy which aimed at substantial power, and he believed +that such a policy, if insisted on, could have but one result. + +The meeting of Fairfax County was held in due course, and Washington +presided. The usual resolutions for self-government and against +the vindictive Massachusetts measures were adopted. Union and +non-importation were urged; and then the congress, which they +advocated, was recommended to address a petition and remonstrance to +the king, and ask him to reflect that "from our sovereign there can +be but one appeal." Everything was to be tried, everything was to be +done, but the ultimate appeal was never lost sight of where Washington +appeared, and the final sentence of these Fairfax County resolves is +very characteristic of the leader in the meeting. Two days later he +wrote to the worthy and still remonstrating Bryan Fairfax, repeating +and enlarging his former questions, and adding: "Has not General +Gage's conduct since his arrival, in stopping the address of his +council, and publishing a proclamation more becoming a Turkish bashaw +than an English governor, declaring it treason to associate in any +manner by which the commerce of Great Britain is to be affected,--has +not this exhibited an unexampled testimony of the most despotic system +of tyranny that ever was practiced in a free government?... Shall we +after this whine and cry for relief, when we have already tried it in +vain? Or shall we supinely sit and see one province after another fall +a sacrifice to despotism?" The fighting spirit of the man was rising. +There was no rash rushing forward, no ignorant shouting for war, no +blinking of the real issue, but a foresight that nothing could dim, +and a perception of facts which nothing could confuse. On August 1 +Washington was at Williamsburg, to represent his county in the +meeting of representatives from all Virginia. The convention passed +resolutions like the Fairfax resolves, and chose delegates to a +general congress. The silent man was now warming into action. He "made +the most eloquent speech that ever was made," and said, "I will raise +a thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and march them to the +relief of Boston." He was capable, it would seem, of talking to the +purpose with some fire and force, for all he was so quiet and so +retiring. When there was anything to say, he could say it so that it +stirred all who listened, because they felt that there was a mastering +strength behind the words. He faced the terrible issue solemnly and +firmly, but his blood was up, the fighting spirit in him was aroused, +and the convention chose him as one of Virginia's six delegates to +the Continental Congress. He lingered long enough to make a few +preparations at Mount Vernon. He wrote another letter to Fairfax, +interesting to us as showing the keenness with which he read in the +meagre news-reports the character of Gage and of the opposing people +of Massachusetts. Then he started for the North to take the first step +on the long and difficult path that lay before him. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TAKING COMMAND + + +In the warm days of closing August, a party of three gentlemen rode +away from Mount Vernon one morning, and set out upon their long +journey to Philadelphia. One cannot help wondering whether a tender +and somewhat sad remembrance did not rise in Washington's mind, as he +thought of the last time he had gone northward, nearly twenty years +before. Then, he was a light-hearted young soldier, and he and his +aides, albeit they went on business, rode gayly through the forests, +lighting the road with the bright colors they wore and with the +glitter of lace and arms, while they anticipated all the pleasures of +youth in the new lands they were to visit. Now, he was in the prime of +manhood, looking into the future with prophetic eyes, and sober as was +his wont when the shadow of coming responsibility lay dark upon his +path. With him went Patrick Henry, four years his junior, and Edmund +Pendleton, now past threescore. They were all quiet and grave enough, +no doubt; but Washington, we may believe, was gravest of all, because, +being the most truthful of men to himself as to others, he saw more +plainly what was coming. So they made their journey to the North, and +on the memorable 5th of September they met with their brethren from +the other colonies in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. + +The Congress sat fifty-one days, occupied with debates and discussion. +Few abler, more honest, or more memorable bodies of men have ever +assembled to settle the fate of nations. Much debate, great and +earnest in all directions, resulted in a declaration of colonial +rights, in an address to the king, in another to the people of Canada, +and a third to the people of Great Britain; masterly state papers, +seldom surpassed, and extorting even then the admiration of England. +In these debates and state papers Washington took no part that is now +apparent on the face of the record. He was silent in the Congress, and +if he was consulted, as he unquestionably was by the committees, there +is no record of it now. The simple fact was that his time had not +come. He saw men of the most acute minds, liberal in education, +patriotic in heart, trained in law and in history, doing the work +of the moment in the best possible way. If anything had been done +wrongly, or had been left undone, Washington would have found his +voice quickly enough, and uttered another of the "most eloquent +speeches ever made," as he did shortly before in the Virginia +convention. He could speak in public when need was, but now there was +no need and nothing to arouse him. The work of Congress followed +the line of policy adopted by the Virginia convention, and that had +proceeded along the path marked out in the Fairfax resolves, so that +Washington could not be other than content. He occupied his own time, +as we see by notes in his diary, in visiting the delegates from +the other colonies, and in informing himself as to their ideas and +purposes, and those of the people whom they represented. He was +quietly working for the future, the present being well taken care of. +Yet this silent man, going hither and thither, and chatting pleasantly +with this member or that, was in some way or other impressing himself +deeply on all the delegates, for Patrick Henry said: "If you speak +of solid information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is +unquestionably the greatest man on the floor." + +We have a letter, written at just this time, which shows us how +Washington felt, and we see again how his spirit rose as he saw more +and more clearly that the ultimate issue was inevitable. The letter is +addressed to Captain Mackenzie, a British officer at Boston, and an +old friend. "Permit me," he began, "with the freedom of a friend (for +you know I always esteemed you), to express my sorrow that fortune +should place you in a service that must fix curses to the latest +posterity upon the contrivers, and, if success (which, by the by, is +impossible) accompanies it, execrations upon all those who have been +instrumental in the execution." This was rather uncompromising talk +and not over peaceable, it must be confessed. He continued: "Give me +leave to add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not +the wish or intent of that government [Massachusetts], or any other +upon this continent, separately or collectively, to set up for +independence; but this you may at the same time rely on, that none +of them will ever submit to the loss of those valuable rights and +privileges which are essential to the happiness of every free state, +and without which life, liberty, and property are rendered totally +insecure.... Again give me leave to add as my opinion that more blood +will be spilled on this occasion, if the ministry are determined +to push matters to extremity, than history has ever yet furnished +instances of in the annals of North America, and such a vital wound +will be given to the peace of this great country, as time itself +cannot cure or eradicate the remembrance of." Washington was not a +political agitator like Sam Adams, planning with unerring intelligence +to bring about independence. On the contrary, he rightly declared that +independence was not desired. But although he believed in exhausting +every argument and every peaceful remedy, it is evident that he felt +that there now could be but one result, and that violent separation +from the mother country was inevitable. Here is where he differed from +his associates and from the great mass of the people, and it is to +this entire veracity of mind that his wisdom and foresight were so +largely due, as well as his success when the time came for him to put +his hand to the plough. + +When Congress adjourned, Washington returned to Mount Vernon, to the +pursuits and pleasures that he loved, to his family and farm, and to +his horses and hounds, with whom he had many a good run, the last that +he was to enjoy for years to come. He returned also to wait and +watch as before, and to see war rapidly gather in the east. When the +Virginia convention again assembled, resolutions were introduced to +arm and discipline men, and Henry declared in their support that +an "appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts" was all that was left. +Washington said nothing, but he served on the committee to draft a +plan of defense, and then fell to reviewing the independent companies +which were springing up everywhere. At the same time he wrote to his +brother John, who had raised a troop, that he would accept the command +of it if desired, as it was his "full intention to devote his life and +fortune in the cause we are engaged in, if needful." At Mount Vernon +his old comrades of the French war began to appear, in search of +courage and sympathy. Thither, too, came Charles Lee, a typical +military adventurer of that period, a man of English birth and of +varied service, brilliant, whimsical, and unbalanced. There also came +Horatio Gates, likewise British, and disappointed with his prospects +at home; less adventurous than Lee, but also less brilliant, and not +much more valuable. + +Thus the winter wore away; spring opened, and toward the end of April +Washington started again for the North, much occupied with certain +tidings from Lexington and Concord which just then spread over the +land. He saw all that it meant plainly enough, and after noting the +fact that the colonists fought and fought well, he wrote to George +Fairfax in England: "Unhappy it is to reflect that a brother's sword +has been sheathed in a brother's breast, and that the once happy and +peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched in blood or +inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative. But can a virtuous man hesitate +in his choice?" Congress, it would seem, thought there was a good deal +of room for hesitation, both for virtuous men and others, and after +the fashion of their race determined to do a little more debating and +arguing, before taking any decisive step. After much resistance and +discussion, a second "humble and dutiful petition" to the king was +adopted, and with strange contradiction a confederation was formed at +the same time, and Congress proceeded to exercise the sovereign powers +thus vested in them. The most pressing and troublesome question before +them was what to do with the army surrounding Boston, and with the +actual hostilities there existing. + +Washington, for his part, went quietly about as before, saying +nothing and observing much, working hard as chairman of the military +committees, planning for defense, and arranging for raising an army. +One act of his alone stands out for us with significance at this +critical time. In this second Congress he appeared habitually on the +floor in his blue and buff uniform of a Virginia colonel. It was his +way of saying that the hour for action had come, and that he at least +was ready for the fight whenever called upon. + +Presently he was summoned. Weary of waiting, John Adams at last +declared that Congress must adopt the army and make Washington, who at +this mention of his name stepped out of the room, commander-in-chief. +On June 15, formal motions were made to this effect and unanimously +adopted, and the next day Washington appeared before Congress and +accepted the trust. His words were few and simple. He expressed his +sense of his own insufficiency for the task before him, and said that +as no pecuniary consideration could have induced him to undertake the +work, he must decline all pay or emoluments, only looking to Congress +to defray his expenses. In the same spirit he wrote to his soldiers +in Virginia, to his brother, and finally, in terms at once simple +and pathetic, to his wife. There was no pretense about this, but the +sternest reality of self-distrust, for Washington saw and measured as +did no one else the magnitude of the work before him. He knew that he +was about to face the best troops of Europe, and he had learned by +experience that after the first excitement was over he would be +obliged to rely upon a people who were brave and patriotic, but also +undisciplined, untrained, and unprepared for war, without money, +without arms, without allies or credit, and torn by selfish local +interests. Nobody else perceived all this as he was able to with his +mastery of facts, but he faced the duty unflinchingly. He did not put +it aside because he distrusted himself, for in his truthfulness he +could not but confess that no other American could show one tithe +of his capacity, experience, or military service. He knew what was +coming, knew it, no doubt, when he first put on his uniform, and he +accepted instantly. + +John Adams in his autobiography speaks of the necessity of choosing a +Southern general, and also says there were objectors to the selection +of Washington even among the Virginia delegates. That there were +political reasons for taking a Virginian cannot be doubted. But the +dissent, even if it existed, never appeared on the surface, excepting +in the case of John Hancock, who, with curious vanity, thought that he +ought to have this great place. When Washington's name was proposed +there was no murmur of opposition, for there was no man who could for +one moment be compared with him in fitness. The choice was inevitable, +and he himself felt it to be so. He saw it coming; he would fain have +avoided the great task, but no thought of shrinking crossed his mind. +He saw with his entire freedom from constitutional subtleties that an +absolute parliament sought to extend its power to the colonies. To +this he would not submit, and he knew that this was a question which +could be settled only by one side giving way, or by the dread appeal +to arms. It was a question of fact, hard, unrelenting fact, now to be +determined by battle, and on him had fallen the burden of sustaining +the cause of his country. In this spirit he accepted his commission, +and rode forth to review the troops. He was greeted with loud acclaim +wherever he appeared. Mankind is impressed by externals, and those +who gazed upon Washington in the streets of Philadelphia felt their +courage rise and their hearts grow strong at the sight of his virile, +muscular figure as he passed before them on horseback, stately, +dignified, and self-contained. The people looked upon him, and were +confident that this was a man worthy and able to dare and do all +things. + +On June 21 he set forth accompanied by Lee and Schuyler, and with a +brilliant escort. He had ridden but twenty miles when he was met by +the news of Bunker Hill. "Did the militia fight?" was the immediate +and characteristic question; and being told that they did fight, he +exclaimed, "Then the liberties of the country are safe." Given the +fighting spirit, Washington felt he could do anything. Full of this +important intelligence he pressed forward to Newark, where he was +received by a committee of the provincial congress, sent to conduct +the commander-in-chief to New York. There he tarried long enough to +appoint Schuyler to the charge of the military affairs in that colony, +having mastered on the journey its complicated social and political +conditions. Pushing on through Connecticut he reached Watertown, where +he was received by the provincial congress of Massachusetts, on July +2, with every expression of attachment and confidence. Lingering less +than an hour for this ceremony, he rode on to the headquarters at +Cambridge, and when he came within the lines the shouts of the +soldiers and the booming of cannon announced his arrival to the +English in Boston. + +The next day he rode forth in the presence of a great multitude, and +the troops having been drawn up before him, he drew his sword beneath +the historical elm-tree, and took command of the first American army. +"His excellency," wrote Dr. Thatcher in his journal, "was on horseback +in company with several military gentlemen. It was not difficult to +distinguish him from all others. He is tall and well proportioned, and +his personal appearance truly noble and majestic." "He is tall and of +easy and agreeable address," the loyalist Curwen had remarked a few +weeks before; while Mrs. John Adams, warm-hearted and clever, wrote +to her husband after the general's arrival: "Dignity, ease, and +complacency, the gentleman and the soldier, look agreeably blended in +him. Modesty marks every line and feature of his face. Those lines of +Dryden instantly occurred to me,-- + + 'Mark his majestic fabric! He's a temple + Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine; + His soul's the deity that lodges there; + Nor is the pile unworthy of the God.'" + +Lady, lawyer, and surgeon, patriot and tory, all speak alike, and as +they wrote so New England felt. A slave-owner, an aristocrat, and a +churchman, Washington came to Cambridge to pass over the heads +of native generals to the command of a New England army, among a +democratic people, hard-working and simple in their lives, and +dissenters to the backbone, who regarded episcopacy as something +little short of papistry and quite equivalent to toryism. Yet the +shout that went up from soldiers and people on Cambridge common on +that pleasant July morning came from the heart and had no jarring +note. A few of the political chiefs growled a little in later days at +Washington, but the soldiers and the people, high and low, rich and +poor, gave him an unstinted loyalty. On the fields of battle and +throughout eight years of political strife the men of New England +stood by the great Virginian with a devotion and truth in which was no +shadow of turning. Here again we see exhibited most conspicuously +the powerful personality of the man who was able thus to command +immediately the allegiance of this naturally cold and reserved people. +What was it that they saw which inspired them at once with so much +confidence? They looked upon a tall, handsome man, dressed in plain +uniform, wearing across his breast a broad blue band of silk, which +some may have noticed as the badge and symbol of a certain solemn +league and covenant once very momentous in the English-speaking world. +They saw his calm, high bearing, and in every line of face and figure +they beheld the signs of force and courage. Yet there must have been +something more to call forth the confidence then so quickly given, and +which no one ever long withheld. All felt dimly, but none the less +surely, that here was a strong, able man, capable of rising to the +emergency, whatever it might be, capable of continued growth and +development, clear of head and warm of heart; and so the New England +people gave to him instinctively their sympathy and their faith, and +never took either back. + +The shouts and cheers died away, and then Washington returned to his +temporary quarters in the Wadsworth house, to master the task before +him. The first great test of his courage and ability had come, and he +faced it quietly as the excitement caused by his arrival passed by. He +saw before him, to use his own words, "a mixed multitude of people, +under very little discipline, order, or government." In the language +of one of his aides:[1] "The entire army, if it deserved the name, was +but an assemblage of brave, enthusiastic, undisciplined, country lads; +the officers in general quite as ignorant of military life as the +troops, excepting a few elderly men, who had seen some irregular +service among the provincials under Lord Amherst." With this force, +ill-posted and very insecurely fortified, Washington was to drive the +British from Boston. His first step was to count his men, and it took +eight days to get the necessary returns, which in an ordinary army +would have been furnished in an hour. When he had them, he found that +instead of twenty thousand, as had been represented, but fourteen +thousand soldiers were actually present for duty. In a short time, +however, Mr. Emerson, the chaplain, noted in his diary that it +was surprising how much had been done, that the lines had been so +extended, and the works so shrewdly built, that it was morally +impossible for the enemy to get out except in one place purposely left +open. A little later the same observer remarked: "There is a great +overturning in the camp as to order and regularity; new lords, new +laws. The Generals Washington and Lee are upon the lines every day. +The strictest government is taking place, and great distinction is +made between officers and soldiers." Bodies of troops scattered here +and there by chance were replaced by well-distributed forces, posted +wisely and effectively in strong intrenchments. It is little wonder +that the worthy chaplain was impressed, and now, seeing it all from +every side, we too can watch order come out of chaos and mark the +growth of an army under the guidance of a master-mind and the steady +pressure of an unbending will. + +[Footnote 1: John Trumbull, _Reminiscences_, p. 18.] + +Then too there was no discipline, for the army was composed of raw +militia, who elected their officers and carried on war as they +pleased. In a passage suppressed by Mr. Sparks, Washington said: +"There is no such thing as getting officers of this stamp to carry +orders into execution--to curry favor with the men (by whom they were +chosen, and on whose smile they may possibly think that they may again +rely) seems to be one of the principal objects of their attention. +I have made a pretty good slam amongst such kind of officers as the +Massachusetts government abounds in, since I came into this camp, +having broke one colonel and two captains for cowardly behavior in +the action on Bunker Hill, two captains for drawing more pay and +provisions than they had men in their company, and one for being +absent from his post when the enemy appeared there and burnt a house +just by it. Besides these I have at this time one colonel, one major, +one captain, and two subalterns under arrest for trial. In short, I +spare none, and yet fear it will not all do, as these people seem to +be too attentive to everything but their own interests." This may +be plain and homely in phrase, but it is not stilted, and the quick +energy of the words shows how the New England farmers and fishermen +were being rapidly brought to discipline. Bringing the army into +order, however, was but a small part of his duties. It is necessary +to run over all his difficulties, great and small, at this time, and +count them up, in order to gain a just idea of the force and capacity +of the man who overcame them. + +Washington, in the first place, was obliged to deal not only with his +army, but with the general congress and the congress of the province. +He had to teach them, utterly ignorant as they were of the needs and +details of war, how to organize and supply their armies. There was no +commissary department, there were no uniforms, no arrangements for +ammunition, no small arms, no cannon, no resources to draw upon for +all these necessaries of war. Little by little he taught Congress +to provide after a fashion for these things, little by little he +developed what he needed, and by his own ingenuity, and by seizing +alertly every suggestion from others, he supplied for better or worse +one deficiency after another. He had to deal with various governors +and various colonies, each with its prejudices, jealousies, and +shortcomings. He had to arrange for new levies from a people unused +to war, and to settle with infinite anxiety and much wear and tear of +mind and body, the conflict as to rank among officers to whom he could +apply no test but his own insight. He had to organize and stimulate +the arming of privateers, which, by preying on British commerce, were +destined to exercise such a powerful influence on the fate of the war. +It was neither showy nor attractive, such work as this, but it was +very vital, and it was done. + +By the end of July the army was in a better posture of defense; +and then at the beginning of the next month, as the prospect was +brightening, it was suddenly discovered that there was no gunpowder. +An undrilled army, imperfectly organized, was facing a disciplined +force and had only some nine rounds in the cartridge-boxes. Yet there +is no quivering in the letters from headquarters. Anxiety and strain +of nerve are apparent; but a resolute determination rises over all, +supported by a ready fertility of resource. Couriers flew over the +country asking for powder in every town and in every village. A vessel +was even dispatched to the Bermudas to seize there a supply of powder, +of which the general, always listening, had heard. Thus the immediate +and grinding pressure was presently relieved, but the staple of war +still remained pitifully and perilously meagre all through the winter. + +Meantime, while thus overwhelmed with the cares immediately about him, +Washington was watching the rest of the country. He had a keen eye +upon Johnson and his Indians in the valley of the Mohawk; he followed +sharply every movement of Tryon and the Tories in New York; he refused +with stern good sense to detach troops to Connecticut and Long Island, +knowing well when to give and when to say No, a difficult monosyllable +for the new general of freshly revolted colonies. But if he would not +detach in one place, he was ready enough to do so in another. He sent +one expedition by Lake Champlain, under Montgomery, to Montreal, and +gave Arnold picked troops to march through the wilds of Maine and +strike Quebec. The scheme was bold and brilliant, both in conception +and in execution, and came very near severing Canada forever from the +British crown. A chapter of little accidents, each one of which proved +as fatal as it was unavoidable, a moment's delay on the Plains of +Abraham, and the whole campaign failed; but there was a grasp of +conditions, a clearness of perception, and a comprehensiveness about +the plan, which stamp it as the work of a great soldier, who saw +besides the military importance, the enormous political value held out +by the chance of such a victory. + +The daring, far-reaching quality of this Canadian expedition was much +more congenial to Washington's temper and character than the wearing +work of the siege. All that man could do before Boston was done, and +still Congress expected the impossible, and grumbled because without +ships he did not secure the harbor. He himself, while he inwardly +resented such criticism, chafed under the monotonous drudgery of the +intrenchments. He was longing, according to his nature, to fight, and +was, it must be confessed, quite ready to attempt the impossible in +his own way. Early in September he proposed to attack the town in +boats and by the neck of land at Roxbury, but the council of officers +unanimously voted against him. A little more than a month later he +planned another attack, and was again voted down by his officers. +Councils of war never fight, it is said, and perhaps in this case +it was well that such was their habit, for the schemes look rather +desperate now. To us they serve to show the temper of the man, and +also his self-control in this respect at the beginning of the war, for +Washington became ready enough afterwards to override councils when he +was wholly free from doubt himself. + +Thus the planning of campaigns, both distant and near, went on, and at +the same time the current of details, difficult, vital, absolute in +demanding prompt and vigorous solution, went on too. The existence of +war made it necessary to fix our relations with our enemies, and that +these relations should be rightly settled was of vast moment to our +cause, struggling for recognition. The first question was the matter +of prisoners, and on August 11 Washington wrote to Gage:-- + +"I understand that the officers engaged in the cause of liberty and +their country, who by the fortune of war have fallen into your hands, +have been thrown indiscriminately into a common gaol appropriated +for felons; that no consideration has been had for those of the most +respectable rank, when languishing with wounds and sickness; and that +some have been even amputated in this unworthy situation. + +"Let your opinion, sir, of the principle which actuates them be what +it may, they suppose that they act from the noblest of all principles, +a love of freedom and their country. But political principles, I +conceive, are foreign to this point. The obligations arising from the +rights of humanity and claims of rank are universally binding and +extensive, except in case of retaliation. These, I should have hoped, +would have dictated a more tender treatment of those individuals whom +chance or war had put in your power. Nor can I forbear suggesting +its fatal tendency to widen that unhappy breach which you, and those +ministers under whom you act, have repeatedly declared your wish is to +see forever closed. + +"My duty now makes it necessary to apprise you, that for the future I +shall regulate all my conduct towards those gentlemen who are or may +be in our possession, exactly by the rule you shall observe towards +those of ours now in your custody. + +"If severity and hardship mark the line of your conduct, painful as it +may be to me, your prisoners will feel its effects. But if kindness +and humanity are shown to ours, I shall with pleasure consider those +in our hands only as unfortunate, and they shall receive from me that +treatment to which the unfortunate are ever entitled." + +This is a letter worthy of a little study. The affair does not look +very important now, but it went then to the roots of things; for this +letter would go out to the world, and America and the American cause +would be judged by their leader. A little bluster or ferocity, any +fine writing, or any absurdity, and the world would have sneered, +condemned, or laughed. But no man could read this letter and fail to +perceive that here was dignity and force, justice and sense, with just +a touch of pathos and eloquence to recommend it to the heart. Men +might differ with the writer, but they could neither laugh at him nor +set him aside. + +Gage replied after his kind. He was an inconsiderable person, dull +and well meaning, intended for the command of a garrison town, +and terribly twisted and torn by the great events in which he was +momentarily caught. His masters were stupid and arrogant, and he +imitated them with perfect success, except that arrogance with him +dwindled to impertinence. He answered Washington's letter with denials +and recriminations, lectured the American general on the political +situation, and talked about "usurped authority," "rebels," +"criminals," and persons destined to the "cord." Washington, being a +man of his word, proceeded to put some English prisoners into jail, +and then wrote a second note, giving Gage a little lesson in manners, +with the vain hope of making him see that gentlemen did not scold +and vituperate because they fought. He restated his case calmly +and coolly, as before, informed Gage that he had investigated the +counter-charge of cruelty and found it without any foundation, and +then continued: "You advise me to give free operation to truth, and +to punish misrepresentation and falsehood. If experience stamps value +upon counsel, yours must have a weight which few can claim. You best +can tell how far the convulsion, which has brought such ruin on both +countries, and shaken the mighty empire of Britain to its foundation, +may be traced to these malignant causes. + +"You affect, sir, to despise all rank not derived from the same source +with your own. I cannot conceive one more honorable than that which +flows from the uncorrupted choice of a brave and free people, the +purest source and original fountain of all power. Far from making it a +plea for cruelty, a mind of true magnanimity and enlarged ideas would +comprehend and respect it." + +Washington had grasped instinctively the general truth that Englishmen +are prone to mistake civility for servility, and become offensive, +whereas if they are treated with indifference, rebuke, or even +rudeness, they are apt to be respectful and polite. He was obliged to +go over the same ground with Sir William Howe, a little later, and +still more sharply; and this matter of prisoners recurred, although at +longer and longer intervals, throughout the war. But as the British +generals saw their officers go to jail, and found that their impudence +and assumption were met by keen reproofs, they gradually comprehended +that Washington was not a man to be trifled with, and that in him +was a pride and dignity out-topping theirs and far stronger, because +grounded on responsibility borne and work done, and on the deep sense +of a great and righteous cause. + +It was probably a pleasure and a relief to give to Gage and Sir +William Howe a little instruction in military behavior and general +good manners, but there was nothing save infinite vexation in dealing +with the difficulties arising on the American side of the line. As the +days shortened and the leaves fell, Washington saw before him a New +England winter, with no clothing and no money for his troops. Through +long letters to Congress, and strenuous personal efforts, these +wants were somehow supplied. Then the men began to get restless and +homesick, and both privates and officers would disappear to their +farms, which Washington, always impatient of wrongdoing, styled "base +and pernicious conduct," and punished accordingly. By and by the terms +of enlistment ran out and the regiments began to melt away even before +the proper date. Recruiting was carried on slowly and with difficulty, +new levies were tardy in coming in, and Congress could not be +persuaded to stop limited enlistments. Still the task was done. The +old army departed and a new one arose in its place, the posts were +strengthened and ammunition secured. + +Among these reinforcements came some Virginia riflemen, and it must +have warmed Washington's heart to see once more these brave and hardy +fighters in the familiar hunting shirt and leggins. They certainly +made him warm in a very different sense by getting into a +rough-and-tumble fight one winter's day with some Marblehead +fishermen. The quarrel was at its height, when suddenly into the brawl +rode the commander-in-chief. He quickly dismounted, seized two of the +combatants, shook them, berated them, if tradition may be trusted, +for their local jealousies, and so with strong arm quelled the +disturbance. He must have longed to take more than one colonial +governor or magnate by the throat and shake him soundly, as he did his +soldiers from the woods of Virginia and the rocks of Marblehead, for +to his temper there was nothing so satisfying as rapid and decisive +action. But he could not quell governors and assemblies in this way, +and yet he managed them and got what he wanted with a patience and +tact which it must have been in the last degree trying to him to +practice, gifted as he was with a nature at once masterful and +passionate. + +Another trial was brought about by his securing and sending out +privateers which did good service. They brought in many valuable +prizes which caused infinite trouble, and forced Washington not only +to be a naval secretary, but also made him a species of admiralty +judge. He implored the slow-moving Congress to relieve him from this +burden, and suggested a plan which led to the formation of special +committees and was the origin of the Federal judiciary of the United +States. Besides the local jealousies and the personal jealousies, and +the privateers and their prizes, he had to meet also the greed and +selfishness as well of the money-making, stock-jobbing spirit which +springs up rankly under the influence of army contracts and large +expenditures among a people accustomed to trade and unused to war. +Washington wrote savagely of these practices, but still, despite all +hindrances and annoyances, he kept moving straight on to his object. + +In the midst of his labors, harassed and tried in all ways, he was +assailed as usual by complaint and criticism. Some of it came to him +through his friend and aide, Joseph Reed, to whom he wrote in reply +one of the noblest letters ever penned by a great man struggling with +adverse circumstances and wringing victory from grudging fortune. He +said that he was always ready to welcome criticism, hear advice, and +learn the opinion of the world. "For as I have but one capital object +in view, I could wish to make my conduct coincide with the wishes of +mankind, as far as I can consistently; I mean, without departing from +that great line of duty which, though hid under a cloud for some +time, from a peculiarity of circumstances, may, nevertheless, bear +a scrutiny." Thus he held fast to "the great line of duty," though +bitterly tried the while by the news from Canada, where brilliant +beginnings were coming to dismal endings, and cheered only by the +arrival of his wife, who drove up one day in her coach and four, with +the horses ridden by black postilions in scarlet and white liveries, +much to the amazement, no doubt, of the sober-minded New England folk. + +Light, however, finally began to break on the work about him. Henry +Knox, sent out for that purpose, returned safely with the guns +captured at Ticonderoga, and thus heavy ordnance and gunpowder were +obtained. By the middle of February the harbor was frozen over, and +Washington arranged to cross the ice and carry Boston by storm. +Again he was held back by his council, but this time he could not be +stopped. If he could not cross the ice he would go by land. He had +been slowly but surely advancing his works all winter, and now he +determined on a decisive stroke. On the evening of Monday, March +4, under cover of a heavy bombardment which distracted the enemy's +attention, he marched a large body of troops to Dorchester Heights +and began to throw up redoubts. The work went forward rapidly, and +Washington rode about all night encouraging the men. The New England +soldiers had sorely tried his temper, and there were many severe +attacks and bitter criticisms upon them in his letters, which were +suppressed or smoothed over for the most part by Mr. Sparks, but +which have come to light since, as is sometimes the case with facts. +Gradually, however, the General had come to know his soldiers better, +and six months later he wrote to Lund Washington, praising his +northern troops in the highest terms. Even now he understood them as +never before, and as he watched them on that raw March night, working +with the energy and quick intelligence of their race, he probably felt +that the defects were superficial, but the virtues, the tenacity, and +the courage were lasting and strong. + +When day dawned, and the British caught sight of the formidable works +which had sprung up in the night, there was a great excitement and +running hither and thither in the town. Still the men on the heights +worked on, and still Washington rode back and forth among them. He was +stirred and greatly rejoiced at the coming of the fight, which he now +believed inevitable, and as always, when he was deeply moved, the +hidden springs of sentiment and passion were opened, and he reminded +his soldiers that it was the anniversary of the Boston massacre, and +appealed to them by the memories of that day to prepare for battle +with the enemy. As with the Huguenots at Ivry,-- + + "Remember St. Bartholomew was passed from man to man." + +But the fighting never came. The British troops were made ready, then +a gale arose and they could not cross the bay. The next day it +rained in torrents, and the next day it was too late. The American +intrenchments frowned threateningly above the town, and began to send +in certain ominous messengers in the shape of shot and shell. The +place was now so clearly untenable that Howe determined to evacuate +it. An informal request to allow the troops to depart unmolested was +not answered, but Washington suspended his fire and the British made +ready to withdraw. Still they hesitated and delayed, until Washington +again advanced his works, and on this hint they started in earnest, on +March 17, amid confusion, pillage, and disorder, leaving cannon and +much else behind them, and seeking refuge in their ships. + +All was over, and the town was in the hands of the Americans. In +Washington's own words, "To maintain a post within musket-shot of the +enemy for six months together, without powder, and at the same time +to disband one army and recruit another within that distance of +twenty-odd British regiments, is more, probably, than ever was +attempted." It was, in truth, a gallant feat of arms, carried through +by the resolute will and strong brain of one man. The troops on +both sides were brave, but the British had advantages far more than +compensating for a disparity of numbers, always slight and often +more imaginary than real. They had twelve thousand men, experienced, +disciplined, equipped, and thoroughly supplied. They had the best arms +and cannon and gunpowder. They commanded the sea with a strong fleet, +and they were concentrated on the inside line, able to strike with +suddenness and overwhelming force at any point of widely extended +posts. Washington caught them with an iron grip and tightened it +steadily until, in disorderly haste, they took to their boats without +even striking a blow. Washington's great abilities, and the incapacity +of the generals opposed to him, were the causes of this result. If +Robert Clive, for instance, had chanced to have been there the end +might possibly have been the same, but there would have been some +bloody fighting before that end was reached. The explanation of the +feeble abandonment of Boston lies in the stupidity of the English +government, which had sown the wind and then proceeded to handle the +customary crop with equal fatuity. + +There were plenty of great men in England, but they were not +conducting her government or her armies. Lord Sandwich had declared +in the House of Lords that all "Yankees were cowards," a simple and +satisfactory statement, readily accepted by the governing classes, and +flung in the teeth of the British soldiers as they fell back twice +from the bloody slopes of Bunker Hill. Acting on this pleasant idea, +England sent out as commanders of her American army a parcel of +ministerial and court favorites, thoroughly second-rate men, to whom +was confided the task of beating one of the best soldiers and hardest +fighters of the century. Despite the enormous material odds in favor +of Great Britain, the natural result of matching the Howes and Gages +and Clintons against George Washington ensued, and the first lesson +was taught by the evacuation of Boston. + +Washington did not linger over his victory. Even while the British +fleet still hung about the harbor he began to send troops to New York +to make ready for the next attack. He entered Boston in order to see +that every precaution was taken against the spread of the smallpox, +and then prepared to depart himself. Two ideas, during his first +winter of conflict, had taken possession of his mind, and undoubtedly +influenced profoundly his future course. One was the conviction that +the struggle must be fought out to the bitter end, and must bring +either subjugation or complete independence. He wrote in February: +"With respect to myself, I have never entertained an idea of an +accommodation, since I heard of the measures which were adopted in +consequence of the Bunker's Hill fight;" and at an earlier date he +said: "I hope my countrymen (of Virginia) will rise superior to any +losses the whole navy of Great Britain can bring on them, and that the +destruction of Norfolk and threatened devastation of other places +will have no other effect than to unite the whole country in one +indissoluble band against a nation which seems to be lost to every +sense of virtue and those feelings which distinguish a civilized +people from the most barbarous savages." With such thoughts he +sought to make Congress appreciate the probable long duration of the +struggle, and he bent every energy to giving permanency to his army, +and decisiveness to each campaign. The other idea which had grown in +his mind during the weary siege was that the Tories were thoroughly +dangerous and deserved scant mercy. In his second letter to Gage he +refers to them, with the frankness which characterized him when he +felt strongly, as "execrable parricides," and he made ready to +treat them with the utmost severity at New York and elsewhere. When +Washington was aroused there was a stern and relentless side to his +character, in keeping with the force and strength which were his chief +qualities. His attitude on this point seems harsh now when the +old Tories no longer look very dreadful and we can appreciate the +sincerity of conviction which no doubt controlled most of them. But +they were dangerous then, and Washington, with his honest hatred of +all that seemed to him to partake of meanness or treason, proposed to +put them down and render them harmless, being well convinced, after +his clear-sighted fashion, that war was not peace, and that mildness +to domestic foes was sadly misplaced. + +His errand to New England was now done and well done. His victory was +won, everything was settled at Boston; and so, having sent his army +forward, he started for New York, to meet the harder trials that still +awaited him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SAVING THE REVOLUTION + + +After leaving Boston, Washington proceeded through Rhode Island and +Connecticut, pushing troops forward as he advanced, and reached New +York on April 13. There he found himself plunged at once into the same +sea of difficulties with which he had been struggling at Boston, the +only difference being that these were fresh and entirely untouched. +The army was inadequate, and the town, which was the central point +of the colonies, as well as the great river at its side, was wholly +unprotected. The troops were in large measure raw and undrilled, the +committee of safety was hesitating, the Tories were virulent and +active, corresponding constantly with Tryon, who was lurking in a +British man-of-war, while from the north came tidings of retreat +and disaster. All these harassing difficulties crowded upon the +commander-in-chief as soon as he arrived. To appreciate him it is +necessary to understand these conditions and realize their weight and +consequence, albeit the details seem petty. When we comprehend the +difficulties, then we can see plainly the greatness of the man who +quietly and silently took them up and disposed of them. Some he +scotched and some he killed, but he dealt with them all after a +fashion sufficient to enable him to move steadily forward. In his +presence the provincial committee suddenly stiffened and grew strong. +All correspondence with Tryon was cut off, the Tories were repressed, +and on Long Island steps were taken to root out "these abominable +pests of society," as the commander-in-chief called them in his +plain-spoken way. Then forts were built, soldiers energetically +recruited and drilled, arrangements made for prisoners, and despite +all the present cares anxious thought was given to the Canada +campaign, and ideas and expeditions, orders, suggestions, and +encouragement were freely furnished to the dispirited generals and +broken forces of the north. + +One matter, however, overshadowed all others. Nearly a year before, +Washington had seen that there was no prospect or possibility of +accommodation with Great Britain. It was plain to his mind that the +struggle was final in its character and would be decisive. Separation +from the mother country, therefore, ought to come at once, so that +public opinion might be concentrated, and above all, permanency ought +to be given to the army. These ideas he had been striving to impress +upon Congress, for the most part less clearsighted than he was as to +facts, and as the months slipped by his letters had grown constantly +more earnest and more vehement. Still Congress hesitated, and at last +Washington went himself to Philadelphia and held conferences with +the principal men. What he said is lost, but the tone of Congress +certainly rose after his visit. The aggressive leaders found their +hands so much strengthened that little more than a month later they +carried through a declaration of independence, which was solemnly and +gratefully proclaimed to the army by the general, much relieved to +have got through the necessary boat-burning, and to have brought +affairs, military and political, on to the hard ground of actual fact. + +Soon after his return from Philadelphia, he received convincing +proof that his views in regard to the Tories were extremely sound. +A conspiracy devised by Tryon, which aimed apparently at the +assassination of the commander-in-chief, and which had corrupted his +life-guards for that purpose, was discovered and scattered before it +had fairly hardened into definite form. The mayor of the city and +various other persons were seized and thrown into prison, and one of +the life-guards, Thomas Hickey by name, who was the principal tool in +the plot, was hanged in the presence of a large concourse of people. +Washington wrote a brief and business-like account of the affair to +Congress, from which one would hardly suppose that his own life had +been aimed at. It is a curious instance of his cool indifference to +personal danger. The conspiracy had failed, that was sufficient for +him, and he had other things besides himself to consider. "We expect +a bloody summer in New York and Canada," he wrote to his brother, and +even while the Canadian expedition was coming to a disastrous close, +and was bringing hostile invasion instead of the hoped-for conquest, +British men-of-war were arriving daily in the harbor, and a large army +was collecting on Staten Island. The rejoicings over the Declaration +of Independence had hardly died away, when the vessels of the enemy +made their way up the Hudson without check from the embryo forts, or +the obstacles placed in the stream. + +July 12 Lord Howe arrived with more troops, and also with ample +powers to pardon and negotiate. Almost immediately he tried to open +a correspondence with Washington, but Colonel Reed, in behalf of the +General, refused to receive the letter addressed to "Mr. Washington." +Then Lord Howe sent an officer to the American camp with a second +letter, addressed to "George Washington, Esq., etc., etc." The bearer +was courteously received, but the letter was declined. "The etc., etc. +implies everything," said the Englishman. It may also mean "anything," +Washington replied, and added that touching the pardoning power of +Lord Howe there could be no pardon where there was no guilt, and where +no forgiveness was asked. As a result of these interviews, Lord Howe +wrote to England that it would be well to give Mr. Washington his +proper title. A small question, apparently, this of the form of +address, especially to a lover of facts, and yet it was in reality +of genuine importance. To the world Washington represented the young +republic, and he was determined to extort from England the first +acknowledgment of independence by compelling her to recognize the +Americans as belligerents and not rebels. Washington cared as little +for vain shows as any man who ever lived, but he had the highest sense +of personal dignity, and of the dignity of his cause and country. +Neither should be allowed to suffer in his hands. He appreciated the +effect on mankind of forms and titles, and with unerring judgment +he insisted on what he knew to be of real value. It is one of the +earliest examples of the dignity and good taste which were of such +inestimable value to his country. + +He had abundant occasion also for the employment of these same +qualities, coupled with unwearied patience and tact, in dealing with +his own men. The present army was drawn from a wider range than that +which had taken Boston, and sectional jealousies and disputes, growing +every day more hateful to the commander-in-chief, sprang up rankly. +The men of Maryland thought those of Connecticut ploughboys; the +latter held the former to be fops and dandies. These and a hundred +other disputes buzzed and whirled about Washington, stirring his +strong temper, and exercising his sternest self-control in the +untiring effort to suppress them and put them to death. "It +requires," John Adams truly said, "more serenity of temper, a deeper +understanding, and more courage than fell to the lot of Marlborough, +to ride in this whirlwind." Fortunately these qualities were all +there, and with them an honesty of purpose and an unbending directness +of character to which Anne's great general was a stranger. + +Meantime, while the internal difficulties were slowly diminished, the +forces of the enemy rapidly increased. First it became evident that +attacks were not feasible. Then the question changed to a mere choice +of defenses. Even as to this there was great and harassing doubt, for +the enemy, having command of the water, could concentrate and attack +at any point they pleased. Moreover, the British had thirty thousand +of the best disciplined and best equipped troops that Europe could +furnish, while Washington had some twenty thousand men, one fourth of +whom were unfit for duty, and with the remaining three fourths, raw +recruits for the most part, he was obliged to defend an extended line +of posts, without cavalry, and with no means for rapid concentration. +Had he been governed solely by military considerations he would have +removed the inhabitants, burned New York, and drawing his forces +together would have taken up a secure post of observation. To have +destroyed the town, however, not only would have frightened the timid +and the doubters, and driven them over to the Tories, but would have +dispirited the patriots not yet alive to the exigencies of war, and +deeply injured the American cause. That Washington well understood the +need of such action is clear, both from the current rumors that the +town was to be burned, and from his expressed desire to remove the +women and children from New York. But political considerations +overruled the military necessity, and he spared the town. It was bad +enough to be thus hampered, but he was even more fettered in other +ways, for he could not even concentrate his forces and withdraw to the +Highlands without a battle, as he was obliged to fight in order to +sustain public feeling, and thus he was driven on to almost sure +defeat. With Brooklyn Heights in the hands of the enemy New York was +untenable, and yet it was obvious that to hold Brooklyn when the enemy +controlled the sea was inviting defeat. Yet Washington under the +existing conditions had no choice except to fight on Long Island and +to say that he hoped to make a good defense. + +Everything, too, as the day of battle drew near, seemed to make +against him. On August 22 the enemy began to land on Long Island, +where Greene had drawn a strong line of redoubts behind the village of +Brooklyn, to defend the heights which commanded New York, and had made +every arrangement to protect the three roads through the wooded hills, +about a mile from the intrenchments. Most unfortunately, and just at +the critical moment, Greene was taken down with a raging fever, so +that when Washington came over on the 24th he found much confusion in +the camps, which he repressed as best he could, and then prepared for +the attack. Greene's illness, however, had caused some oversights +which were unknown to the commander-in-chief, and which, as it turned +out, proved fatal. + +After indecisive skirmishing for two or three days, the British +started early on the morning of the 26th. They had nine thousand men +and were well informed as to the country. Advancing through woodpaths +and lanes, they came round to the left flank of the Americans. One +of the roads through the hills was unguarded, the others feebly +protected. The result is soon told. The Americans, out-generaled and +out-flanked, were taken by surprise and surrounded, Sullivan and +his division were cut off, and then Lord Stirling. There was some +desperate fighting, and the Americans showed plenty of courage, but +only a few forced their way out. Most of them were killed or taken +prisoners, the total loss out of some five thousand men reaching as +high as two thousand. + +From the redoubts, whither he had come at the sound of the firing, +Washington watched the slaughter and disaster in grim silence. He saw +the British troops, flushed with victory, press on to the very edge +of his works and then withdraw in obedience to command. The British +generals had their prey so surely, as they believed, that they +mercifully decided not to waste life unnecessarily by storming the +works in the first glow of success. So they waited during that +night and the two following days, while Washington strengthened his +intrenchments, brought over reinforcements, and prepared for the +worst. On the 29th it became apparent that there was a movement in the +fleet, and that arrangements were being made to take the Americans in +the rear and wholly cut them off. It was an obvious and sensible plan, +but the British overlooked the fact that while they were lingering, +summing up their victory, and counting the future as assured, there +was a silent watchful man on the other side of the redoubts who for +forty-eight hours never left the lines, and who with a great capacity +for stubborn fighting could move, when the stress came, with the +celerity and stealth of a panther. + +Washington swiftly determined to retreat. It was a desperate +undertaking, and a lesser man would have hesitated and been lost. He +had to transport nine thousand men across a strait of strong tides and +currents, and three quarters of a mile in width. It was necessary to +collect the boats from a distance, and do it all within sight and +hearing of the enemy. The boats were obtained, a thick mist settled +down on sea and land, the water was calm, and as the night wore away, +the entire army with all its arms and baggage was carried over, +Washington leaving in the last boat. At daybreak the British awoke, +but it was too late. They had fought a successful battle, they had had +the American army in their grasp, and now all was over. The victory +had melted away, and, as a grand result, they had a few hundred +prisoners, a stray boat with three camp-followers, and the deserted +works in which they stood. To grasp so surely the happy chance of wind +and weather and make such a retreat as this was a feat of arms as +great as most victories, and in it we see, perhaps as plainly as +anywhere, the nerve and quickness of the man who conducted it. It is +true, it was the only chance of salvation, but the great man is he who +is entirely master of his opportunity, even if he have but one. + +The outlook, nevertheless, was, as Washington wrote, "truly +distressing." The troops were dispirited, and the militia began to +disappear, as they always did after a defeat. Congress would not +permit the destruction of the city, different interests pulled in +different directions, conflicting opinions distracted the councils +of war, and, with utter inability to predict the enemy's movements, +everything led to halfway measures and to intense anxiety, while Lord +Howe tried to negotiate with Congress, and the Americans waited for +events. Washington, looking beyond the confusion of the moment, saw +that he had gained much by delay, and had his own plan well defined. +He wrote: "We have not only delayed the operations of the campaign +till it is too late to effect any capital incursion into the country, +but have drawn the enemy's forces to one point.... It would be +presumption to draw out our young troops into open ground against +their superiors both in number and discipline, and I have never spared +the spade and pickaxe." Every one else, however, saw only past defeat +and present peril. + +The British ships gradually made their way up the river, until it +became apparent that they intended to surround and cut off the +American army. Washington made preparations to withdraw, but +uncertainty of information came near rendering his precautions futile. +September 15 the men-of-war opened fire, and troops were landed near +Kip's Bay. The militia in the breastworks at that point had been +at Brooklyn and gave way at once, communicating their panic to two +Connecticut regiments. Washington, galloping down to the scene of +battle, came upon the disordered and flying troops. He dashed in among +them, conjuring them to stop, but even while he was trying to rally +them they broke again on the appearance of some sixty or seventy of +the enemy, and ran in all directions. In a tempest of anger Washington +drew his pistols, struck the fugitives with his sword, and was only +forced from the field by one of his officers seizing the bridle of his +horse and dragging him away from the British, now within a hundred +yards of the spot. + +Through all his trials and anxieties Washington always showed the +broadest and most generous sympathy. When the militia had begun to +leave him a few days before, although he despised their action and +protested bitterly to Congress against their employment, yet in his +letters he displayed a keen appreciation of their feelings, and saw +plainly every palliation and excuse. But there was one thing which +he could never appreciate nor realize. It was from first to last +impossible for him to understand how any man could refuse to fight, or +could think of running away. When he beheld rout and cowardly panic +before his very eyes, his temper broke loose and ran uncontrolled. His +one thought then was to fight to the last, and he would have thrown +himself single-handed on the enemy, with all his wisdom and prudence +flung to the winds. The day when the commander held his place merely +by virtue of personal prowess lay far back in the centuries, and no +one knew it better than Washington. But the old fighting spirit awoke +within him when the clash of arms sounded in his ears, and though we +may know the general in the tent and in the council, we can only know +the man when he breaks out from all rules and customs, and shows the +rage of battle, and the indomitable eagerness for the fray, which lie +at the bottom of the tenacity and courage that carried the war for +independence to a triumphant close. + +The rout and panic over, Washington quickly turned to deal with the +pressing danger. With coolness and quickness he issued his orders, and +succeeded in getting his army off, Putnam's division escaping most +narrowly. He then took post at King's Bridge, and began to strengthen +and fortify his lines. While thus engaged, the enemy advanced, and +on the 16th Washington suddenly took the offensive and attacked the +British light troops. The result was a sharp skirmish, in which the +British were driven back with serious loss, and great bravery was +shown by the Connecticut and Virginia troops, the two commanding +officers being killed. This affair, which was the first gleam of +success, encouraged the troops, and was turned to the best account by +the general. Still a successful skirmish did not touch the essential +difficulties of the situation, which then as always came from +within, rather than without. To face and check twenty-five thousand +well-equipped and highly disciplined soldiers Washington had now some +twelve thousand men, lacking in everything which goes to make an army, +except mere individual courage and a high average of intelligence. +Even this meagre force was an inconstant and diminishing quantity, +shifting, uncertain, and always threatening dissolution. + +The task of facing and fighting the enemy was enough for the ablest +of men; but Washington was obliged also to combat and overcome the +inertness and dullness born of ignorance, and to teach Congress how to +govern a nation at war. In the hours "allotted to sleep," he sat in +his headquarters, writing a letter, with "blots and scratches," which +told Congress with the utmost precision and vigor just what was +needed. It was but one of a long series of similar letters, written +with unconquerable patience and with unwearied iteration, lighted here +and there by flashes of deep and angry feeling, which would finally +strike home under the pressure of defeat, and bring the patriots of +the legislature to sudden action, always incomplete, but still action +of some sort. It must have been inexpressibly dreary work, but quite +as much was due to those letters as to the battles. Thinking for other +people, and teaching them what to do, is at best an ungrateful duty, +but when it is done while an enemy is at your throat, it shows a grim +tenacity of purpose which is well worth consideration. + +In this instance the letter of September 24, read in the light of the +battles of Long Island and Kip's Bay, had a considerable effect. The +first steps were taken to make the army national and permanent, to +raise the pay of officers, and to lengthen enlistments. Like most of +the war measures of Congress, they were too late for the immediate +necessity, but they helped the future. Congress, moreover, then felt +that all had been done that could be demanded, and relapsed once more +into confidence. "The British force," said John Adams, chairman of the +board of war, "is so divided, they will do no great matter this +fall." But Washington, facing hard facts, wrote to Congress with his +unsparing truth on October 4: "Give me leave to say, sir, (I say it +with due deference and respect, and my knowledge of the facts, added +to the importance of the cause and the stake I hold in it, must +justify the freedom,) that your affairs are in a more unpromising way +than you seem to apprehend. Your army, as I mentioned in my last, is +on the eve of its political dissolution. True it is, you have voted +a larger one in lieu of it; but the season is late; and there is a +material difference between voting battalions and raising men." + +The campaign as seen from the board of war and from the Plains of +Harlem differed widely. It is needless to say now which was correct; +every one knows that the General was right and Congress wrong, but +being in the right did not help Washington, nor did he take petty +pleasure in being able to say, "I told you how it would be." The +hard facts remained unchanged. There was the wholly patriotic but +slumberous, and for fighting purposes quite inefficient Congress still +to be waked up and kept awake, and to be instructed. With painful +and plain-spoken repetition this work was grappled with and done +methodically, and like all else as effectively as was possible. + +Meanwhile the days slipped along, and Washington waited on the Harlem +Plains, planning descents on Long Island, and determining to make a +desperate stand where he was, unless the situation decidedly changed. +Then the situation did change, as neither he nor any one else +apparently had anticipated. The British warships came up the Hudson +past the forts, brushing aside our boasted obstructions, destroying +our little fleet, and getting command of the river. Then General Howe +landed at Frog's Point, where he was checked for the moment by the +good disposition of Heath, under Washington's direction. These two +events made it evident that the situation of the American army was +full of peril, and that retreat was again necessary. Such certainly +was the conclusion of the council of war, on the 16th, acting this +time in agreement with their chief. Six days Howe lingered on Frog's +Point, bringing up stores or artillery or something; it matters little +now why he tarried. Suffice it that he waited, and gave six days to +his opponent. They were of little value to Howe, but they were +of inestimable worth to Washington, who employed them in getting +everything in readiness, in holding his council of war, and then on +the 17th in moving deliberately off to very strong ground at White +Plains. On his way he fought two or three slight, sharp, and +successful skirmishes with the British. Sir William followed closely, +but with much caution, having now a dull glimmer in his mind that at +the head of the raw troops in front of him was a man with whom it was +not safe to be entirely careless. + +On the 28th, Howe came up to Washington's position, and found the +Americans quite equal in numbers, strongly intrenched, and awaiting +his attack with confidence. He hesitated, doubted, and finally feeling +that he must do something, sent four thousand men to storm Chatterton +Hill, an outlying post, where some fourteen hundred Americans were +stationed. There was a short, sharp action, and then the Americans +retreated in good order to the main army, having lost less than half +as many men as their opponents. With caution now much enlarged, Howe +sent for reinforcements, and waited two days. The third day it rained, +and on the fourth Howe found that Washington had withdrawn to a higher +and quite impregnable line of hills, where he held all the passes in +the rear and awaited a second attack. Howe contemplated the situation +for two or three days longer, and then broke camp and withdrew to +Dobbs Ferry to secure Fort Washington, which treachery offered him as +an easy and inviting prize. Such were the great results of the victory +of Long Island, two wasted months, and the American army still +untouched. + +Howe was resolved that his campaign should not be utterly fruitless, +and therefore directed his attention to the defenses of the Hudson, +and here he met with better success. Congress, in its military wisdom, +had insisted that these forts must and could be held. So thought the +generals, and so most especially, and most unluckily, did Greene. +Washington, with his usual accurate and keen perception, saw, from the +time the men-of-war came up the Hudson, and, now that the British +army was free, more clearly than ever, that both forts ought to be +abandoned. Sure of his ground, he overruled Congress, but was so far +influenced by Greene that he gave to that officer discretionary orders +as to withdrawal. This was an act of weakness, as he afterwards +admitted, for which he bitterly reproached himself, never confusing or +glossing over his own errors, but loyal there, as elsewhere, to facts. +An attempt was made to hold both forts, and both were lost, as he +had foreseen. From Fort Lee the garrison withdrew in safety. Fort +Washington, with its plans all in Howe's hands through the treachery +of William Demont, the adjutant of Colonel Magaw, was carried by +storm, after a severe struggle. Twenty-six hundred men and all the +munitions of war fell into the hands of the enemy. It was a serious +and most depressing loss, and was felt throughout the continent. + +Meantime Washington had crossed info the Jerseys, and, after the loss +of Fort Lee, began to retreat before the British, who, flushed with +victory, now advanced rapidly under Lord Cornwallis. The crisis of his +fate and of the Revolution was upon him. His army was melting away. +The militia had almost all disappeared, and regiments whose term of +enlistment had expired were departing daily. Lee, who had a division +under his command, was ordered to come up, but paid no attention, +although the orders were repeated almost every day for a month. He +lingered, and loitered, and excused himself, and at last was taken +prisoner. This disposed of him for a time very satisfactorily, but +meanwhile he had succeeded in keeping his troops from Washington, +which was a most serious misfortune. + +On December 2 Washington was at Princeton with three thousand ragged +men, and the British close upon his heels. They had him now surely +in their grip. There could be no mistake this time, and there was +therefore no need of a forced march. But they had not yet learned that +to Washington even hours meant much, and when, after duly resting, +they reached the Delaware, they found the Americans on the other side, +and all the boats destroyed for a distance of seventy miles. + +It was winter now, the short gray days had come, and with them +piercing cold and storms of sleet and ice. It seemed as if the +elements alone would finally disperse the feeble body of men still +gathered about the commander-in-chief. Congress had sent him blank +commissions and orders to recruit, which were well meant, but were not +practically of much value. As Glendower could call spirits from the +vasty deep, so they, with like success, sought to call soldiers from +the earth in the midst of defeat, and in the teeth of a North American +winter. Washington, baffling pursuit and flying from town to town, +left nothing undone. North and south went letters and appeals for men, +money, and supplies. Vain, very vain, it all was, for the most part, +but still it was done in a tenacious spirit. Lee would not come, the +Jersey militia would not turn out, thousands began to accept Howe's +amnesty, and signs of wavering were apparent in some of the Middle +States. Philadelphia was threatened, Newport was in the hands of the +enemy, and for ninety miles Washington had retreated, evading ruin +again and again only by the width of a river. Congress voted not +to leave Philadelphia,--a fact which their General declined to +publish,--and then fled. + +No one remained to face the grim realities of the time but Washington, +and he met them unmoved. Not a moment passed that he did not seek in +some way to effect something. Not an hour went by that he did not turn +calmly from fresh and ever renewed disappointment to work and action. + +By the middle of December Howe felt satisfied that the American army +would soon dissolve, and leaving strong detachments in various posts +he withdrew to New York. His premises were sound, and his conclusions +logical, but he made his usual mistake of overlooking and +underestimating the American general. No sooner was it known that +he was on his way to New York than Washington, at the head of his +dissolving army, resolved to take the offensive and strike an outlying +post. In a letter of December 14, the day after Howe began to move, we +catch the first glimpse of Trenton. It was a bold spirit which, in the +dead of winter, with a broken army, no prospect of reinforcements, and +in the midst of a terror-stricken people, could thus resolve with +some four thousand men to attack an army thoroughly appointed, and +numbering in all its divisions twenty-five thousand soldiers. + +It is well to pause a moment and look at that situation, and at the +overwhelming difficulties which hemmed it in, and then try to realize +what manner of man he was who rose superior to it, and conquered it. +Be it remembered, too, that he never deceived himself, and never for +one instant disguised the truth. Two years later he wrote that at this +supreme moment, in what were called "the dark days of America," he was +never despondent; and this was true enough, for despair was not in his +nature. But no delusions lent him courage. On the 18th he wrote to his +brother "that if every nerve was not strained to recruit this new army +the game was pretty nearly up;" and added, "You can form no idea of +the perplexity of my situation. No man, I believe, ever had a greater +choice of difficulties, and less means to extricate himself from them. +However, under a full persuasion of the justice of our cause, I cannot +entertain an idea that it will finally sink, though it may remain +for some time under a cloud." There is no complaint, no boasting, no +despair in this letter. We can detect a bitterness in the references +to Congress and to Lee, but the tone of the letter is as calm as a May +morning, and it concludes with sending love and good wishes to the +writer's sister and her family. + +Thus in the dreary winter Washington was planning and devising and +sending hither and thither for men, and never ceased through it all +to write urgent and ever sharper letters and keep a wary eye upon the +future. He not only wrote strongly, but he pledged his own estate and +exceeded his powers in desperate efforts to raise money and men. On +the 20th he wrote to Congress: "It may be thought that I am going a +good deal out of the line of my duty to adopt these measures, or to +advise thus freely. A character to lose, an estate to forfeit, the +inestimable blessings of liberty at stake, and a life devoted, must be +my excuse." Even now across the century these words come with a grave +solemnity to our ears, and we can feel as he felt when he alone saw +that he stood on the brink of a great crisis. It is an awful thing to +know that the life of a nation is at stake, and this thought throbs in +his words, measured and quiet as usual, but deeply fraught with much +meaning to him and to the world. + +By Christmas all was ready, and when the Christian world was rejoicing +and feasting, and the British officers in New York and in the New +Jersey towns were reveling and laughing, Washington prepared to +strike. His whole force, broken into various detachments, was less +than six thousand men. To each division was assigned, with provident +forethought, its exact part. Nothing was overlooked, nothing omitted; +and then every division commander failed, for good reason or bad, to +do his duty. Gates was to march from Bristol with two thousand +men, Ewing was to cross at Trenton, Putnam was to come up from +Philadelphia, Griffin was to make a diversion against Donop. When +the moment came, Gates, disapproving the scheme, was on his way +to Congress, and Wilkinson, with his message, found his way to +headquarters by following the bloody tracks of the barefooted +soldiers. Griffin abandoned New Jersey and fled before Donop. Putnam +would not even attempt to leave Philadelphia, and Ewing made no effort +to cross at Trenton. Cadwalader, indeed, came down from Bristol, +but after looking at the river and the floating ice, gave it up as +desperate. + +But there was one man who did not hesitate nor give up, nor halt on +account of floating ice. With twenty-four hundred hardy veterans, +Washington crossed the Delaware. The night was bitter cold and the +passage difficult. When they landed, and began their march of nine +miles to Trenton, a fierce storm of sleet drove in their faces. +Sullivan; marching by the river, sent word that the arms of his men +were wet. "Then tell your general," said Washington, "to use the +bayonet, for the town must be taken." In broad daylight they came to +the town. Washington, at the front and on the right of the line, swept +down the Pennington road, and as he drove in the pickets he heard the +shouts of Sullivan's men, as, with Stark leading the van, they charged +in from the river. A company of yaegers and the light dragoons slipped +away, there was a little confused fighting in the streets, Colonel +Rahl fell, mortally wounded, his Hessians threw down their arms, and +all was over. The battle had been fought and won, and the Revolution +was saved. + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE] + +Taking his thousand prisoners with him, Washington recrossed the +Delaware to his old position. Had all done their duty, as he had +planned, the British hold on New Jersey would have been shattered. As +it was, it was only loosened. Congress, aroused at last, had invested +Washington with almost dictatorial powers; but the time for action was +short. The army was again melting away, and only by urgent appeals +were some veterans retained, and enough new men gathered to make a +force of five thousand men. With this army Washington prepared to +finish what he had begun. + +Trenton struck alarm and dismay into the British, and Cornwallis, with +seven thousand of the best troops, started from New York to redeem +what had been lost. Leaving three regiments at Princeton, he pushed +hotly after Washington, who fell back behind the Assunpink River, +skirmishing heavily and successfully. When Cornwallis reached the +river he found the American army drawn up on the other side awaiting +him. An attack on the bridge was repulsed, and the prospect looked +uninviting. Some officers urged an immediate assault; but night was +falling, and Cornwallis, sure of the game, decided to wait till +the morrow. He, too, forgot that he was facing an enemy who never +overlooked a mistake, and never waited an hour. With quick decision +Washington left his camp-fires burning on the river bank, and taking +roundabout roads, which he had already reconnoitred, marched on to +Princeton. By sunrise he was in the outskirts of the town. Mercer, +detached with some three hundred men, fell in with Mawhood's regiment, +and a sharp action ensued. Mercer was mortally wounded, and his men +gave way just as the main army came upon the field. The British +charged, and as the raw Pennsylvanian troops in the van wavered, +Washington rode to the front, and reining his horse within thirty +yards of the British, ordered his men to advance. The volleys of +musketry left him unscathed, the men stood firm, the other divisions +came rapidly into action, and the enemy gave way in all directions. +The two other British regiments were driven through the town and +routed. Had there been cavalry they would have been entirely cut off. +As it was, they were completely broken, and in this short but bloody +action they lost five hundred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. +It was too late to strike the magazines at Brunswick, as Washington +had intended, and so he withdrew once more with his army to the high +lands to rest and recruit. + +His work was done, however. The country, which had been supine, and +even hostile, rose now, and the British were attacked, surprised, and +cut off in all directions, until at last they were shut up in the +immediate vicinity of New York. The tide had been turned, and +Washington had won the precious breathing-time which was all he +required. + +Frederick the Great is reported to have said that this was the most +brilliant campaign of the century. It certainly showed all the +characteristics of the highest strategy and most consummate +generalship. With a force numerically insignificant as compared with +that opposed to him, Washington won two decisive victories, striking +the enemy suddenly with superior numbers at each point of attack. +The Trenton campaign has all the quality of some of the last battles +fought by Napoleon in France before his retirement to Elba. Moreover, +these battles show not only generalship of the first order, but great +statesmanship. They display that prescient knowledge which recognizes +the supreme moment when all must be risked to save the state. By +Trenton and Princeton Washington inflicted deadly blows upon the +enemy, but he did far more by reviving the patriotic spirit of the +country fainting under the bitter experience of defeat, and by sending +fresh life and hope and courage throughout the whole people. + +It was the decisive moment of the war. Sooner or later the American +colonies were sure to part from the mother-country, either peaceably +or violently. But there was nothing inevitable in the Revolution of +1776, nor was its end at all certain. It was in the last extremities +when the British overran New Jersey, and if it had not been for +Washington that particular revolution would have most surely failed. +Its fate lay in the hands of the general and his army; and to the +strong brain growing ever keener and quicker as the pressure became +more intense, to the iron will gathering a more relentless force +as defeat thickened, to the high, unbending character, and to the +passionate and fighting temper of Washington, we owe the brilliant +campaign which in the darkest hour turned the tide and saved the cause +of the Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +"MALICE DOMESTIC, AND FOREIGN LEVY" + + +After the "two lucky strokes at Trenton and Princeton," as he himself +called them, Washington took up a strong position at Morristown and +waited. His plan was to hold the enemy in check, and to delay all +operations until spring. It is easy enough now to state his purpose, +and it looks very simple, but it was a grim task to carry it out +through the bleak winter days of 1777. The Jerseys farmers, spurred by +the sufferings inflicted upon them by the British troops, had turned +out at last in deference to Washington's appeals, after the victories +of Trenton and Princeton, had harassed and cut off outlying parties, +and had thus straitened the movements of the enemy. But the main army +of the colonies, on which all depended, was in a pitiable state. It +shifted its character almost from day to day. The curse of short +enlistments, so denounced by Washington, made itself felt now with +frightful effect. With the new year most of the continental troops +departed, while others to replace them came in very slowly, and +recruiting dragged most wearisomely. Washington was thus obliged, with +temporary reinforcements of raw militia, to keep up appearances; and +no commander ever struggled with a more trying task. At times it +looked as if the whole army would actually disappear, and more than +once Washington expected that the week's or the month's end would find +him with not more than five hundred men. At the beginning of March he +had about four thousand men, a few weeks later only three thousand raw +troops, ill-fed, ill-clad, ill-shod, ill-armed, and almost unpaid. +Over against him was Howe, with eleven thousand men in the field, and +still more in the city of New York, well disciplined and equipped, +well-armed, well-fed, and furnished with every needful supply. The +contrast is absolutely grotesque, and yet the force of one man's +genius and will was such that this excellent British army was hemmed +in and kept in harmless quiet by their ragged opponents. + +Washington's plan, from the first, was to keep the field at all +hazards, and literally at all hazards did he do so. Right and left +his letters went, day after day, calling with pathetic but dignified +earnestness for men and supplies. In one of these epistles, to +Governor Cooke of Rhode Island, written in January, to remonstrate +against raising troops for the State only, he set forth his intentions +in a few words. "You must be sensible," he said, "that the season is +fast approaching when a new campaign will open; nay, the former is not +yet closed; nor do I intend it shall be, unless the enemy quits the +Jerseys." To keep fighting all the time, and never let the fire of +active resistance flicker or die out, was Washington's theory of the +way to maintain his own side and beat the enemy. If he could not fight +big battles, he would fight small ones; if he could not fight little +battles, he would raid and skirmish and surprise; but fighting of some +sort he would have, while the enemy attempted to spread over a State +and hold possession of it. We can see the obstacles now, but we can +only wonder how they were sufficiently overcome to allow anything to +be done. + +Moreover, besides the purely physical difficulties in the lack of men, +money, and supplies, there were others of a political and personal +kind, which were even more wearing and trying, but which, +nevertheless, had to be dealt with also, in some fashion. In order to +sustain the courage of the people Washington was obliged to give out, +and to allow it to be supposed, that he had more men than was really +the case, and so Congress and various wise and well-meaning persons +grumbled because he did not do more and fight more battles. He never +deceived Congress, but they either could not or would not understand +the actual situation. In March he wrote to Robert Morris: "Nor is it +in my power to make Congress fully sensible of the real situation +of our affairs, and that it is with difficulty, if I may use the +expression, that I can by every means in my power keep the life and +soul of this army together. In a word, when they are at a distance, +they think it is but to say, _Presto, begone_, and everything is done. +They seem not to have any conception of the difficulty and perplexity +attending those who are to execute." It was so easy to see what they +would like to have done, and so simple to pass a resolve to that +effect, that Congress never could appreciate the reality of the +difficulty and the danger until the hand of the enemy was almost at +their throats. They were not even content with delay and neglect, but +interfered actively at times, as in the matter of the exchange of +prisoners, where they made unending trouble for Washington, and showed +themselves unable to learn or to keep their hands off after any amount +of instruction. + +In January Washington issued a proclamation requiring those +inhabitants who had subscribed to Howe's declaration to come in within +thirty days and take the oath of allegiance to the United States. If +they failed to do so they were to be treated as enemies. The measure +was an eminently proper one, and the proclamation was couched in the +most moderate language. It was impossible to permit a large class +of persons to exist on the theory that they were peaceful American +citizens and also subjects of King George. The results of such conduct +were in every way perilous and intolerable, and Washington was +determined that he would divide the sheep from the goats, and know +whom he was defending and whom attacking. Yet for this wise and +necessary action he was called in question in Congress and accused of +violating civil rights and the resolves of Congress itself. Nothing +was actually done about it, but such an incident shows from a single +point the infinite tact and resolution required in waging war under a +government whose members were unable to comprehend what was meant, and +who could not see that until they had beaten England it was hardly +worth while to worry about civil rights, which in case of defeat would +speedily cease to exist altogether. + +Another fertile source of trouble arose from questions of rank. +Members of Congress, in making promotions and appointments, were +more apt to consider local claims than military merit, and they also +allowed their own personal prejudices to affect their action in +this respect far too much. Thence arose endless heart-burnings +and jealousies, followed by resignations and the loss of valuable +officers. Congress, having made the appointments, would go cheerfully +about its business, while the swarm of grievances thus let loose would +come buzzing about the devoted head of the commander-in-chief. He +could not adjourn, but was compelled to quiet rivalries, allay +irritated feelings, and ride the storm as best he might. It was all +done, however, in one way or another: by personal appeals, and by +letters full of dignity, patriotism, and patience, which are very +impressive and full of meaning for students of character, even in this +day and generation. + +Then again, not content with snarling up our native appointments, +Congress complicated matters still more dangerously by its treatment +of foreigners. The members of Congress were colonists, and the fact +that they had shaken off the yoke of the mother country did not in the +least alter their colonial and perfectly natural habit of regarding +with enormous respect Englishmen and Frenchmen, and indeed anybody who +had had the good fortune to be born in Europe. The result was that +they distributed commissions and gave inordinate rank to the many +volunteers who came over the ocean, actuated by various motives, but +all filled with a profound sense of their own merits. It is only fair +to Congress to say that the American agents abroad were even more to +blame in this respect. Silas Deane especially scattered promises of +commissions with a lavish hand, and Congress refused to fulfill many +of the promises thus made in its name. Nevertheless, Congress was far +too lax, and followed too closely the example of its agents. Some of +these foreigners were disinterested men and excellent soldiers, who +proved of great value to the American cause. Many others were mere +military adventurers, capable of being turned to good account, +perhaps, but by no means entitled to what they claimed and in most +instances received. + +The ill-considered action of Congress and of our agents abroad in +this respect was a source of constantly recurring troubles of a very +serious nature. Native officers, who had borne the burden and heat of +the day, justly resented being superseded by some stranger, unable +to speak the language, who had landed in the States but a few days +before. As a result, resignations were threatened which, if carried +out, would affect the character of the army very deeply. Then again, +the foreigners themselves, inflated by the eagerness of our agents and +by their reception at the hands of Congress, would find on joining the +army that they could get no commands, chiefly because there were none +to give. They would then become dissatisfied with their rank and +employment, and bitter complaints and recriminations would ensue. +All these difficulties, of course, fell most heavily upon the +commander-in-chief, who was heartily disgusted with the whole +business. Washington believed from the beginning, and said over and +over again in various and ever stronger terms, that this was an +American war and must be fought by Americans. In no other way, and +by no other persons, did he consider that it could be carried to any +success worth having. He saw of course the importance of a French +alliance, and deeply desired it, for it was a leading element in the +solution of the political and military situation; but alliance with +a foreign power was one thing, and sporadic military volunteers were +another. Washington had no narrow prejudices against foreigners, +for he was a man of broad and liberal mind, and no one was more +universally beloved and respected by the foreign officers than he; but +he was intensely American in his feelings, and he would not admit for +an instant that the American war for independence could be righteously +fought or honestly won by others than Americans. He was well aware +that foreign volunteers had a value and use of which he largely and +gratefully availed himself; but he was exasperated and alarmed by the +indiscriminate and lavish way in which Congress and our agents abroad +gave rank and office to them. "Hungry adventurers," he called them in +one letter, when driven beyond endurance by the endless annoyances +thus forced upon him; and so he pushed their pretensions aside, +and managed, on the whole, to keep them in their proper place. The +operation was delicate, difficult, and unpleasant, for it seemed to +savor of ingratitude. But Washington was never shaken for an instant +in his policy, and while he checked the danger, he showed in many +instances, like Lafayette and Steuben, that he could appreciate and +use all that was really valuable in the foreign contingent. + +The service rendered by Washington in this matter has never been +justly understood or appreciated. If he had not taken this position, +and held it with an absolute firmness which bordered on harshness, we +should have found ourselves in a short time with an army of American +soldiers officered by foreigners, many of them mere mercenaries, +"hungry adventurers," from France, Poland or Hungary, from Germany, +Ireland or England. The result of such a combination would have been +disorganization and defeat. That members of Congress and some of our +representatives in Europe did not see the danger, and that they were +impressed by the foreign officers who came among them, was perfectly +natural. Men are the creatures of the time in which they live, and +take their color from the conditions which surround them, as the +chameleon does from the grass or leaves in which it hides. The rulers +and lawmakers of 1776 could not cast off their provincial awe of +the natives of England and Europe as they cast off their political +allegiance to the British king. The only wonder is that there should +have been even one man so great in mind and character that he could +rise at a single bound from the level of a provincial planter to the +heights of a great national leader. He proved himself such in all +ways, but in none more surely than in his ability to consider all men +simply as men, and, with a judgment that nothing could confuse, to +ward off from his cause and country the dangers inherent in colonial +habits of thought and action, so menacing to a people struggling for +independence. We can see this strong, high spirit of nationality +running through Washington's whole career, but it never did better +service than when it stood between the American army and undue favor +to foreign volunteers. + +Among other disagreeable and necessary truths, Washington had told +Congress that Philadelphia was in danger, that Howe probably meant to +occupy it, and that it would be nearly impossible to prevent his doing +so. This warning being given and unheeded, he continued to watch his +antagonist, doing so with increased vigilance, as signs of activity +began to appear in New York. Toward the end of May he broke up his +cantonments, having now about seven thousand men, and took a strong +position within ten miles of Brunswick. Here he waited, keeping +an anxious eye on the Hudson in case he should be mistaken in his +expectations, and should find that the enemy really intended to go +north to meet Burgoyne instead of south to capture Philadelphia. + +Washington's doubts were soon to be resolved and his expectations +fulfilled. May 31, a fleet of a hundred sail left New York, and +couriers were at once sent southward to warn the States of the +possibility of a speedy invasion. About the same time transports +arrived with more German mercenaries, and Howe, thus reinforced, +entered the Jerseys. Washington determined to decline battle, and if +the enemy pushed on and crossed the Delaware, to hang heavily on their +rear, while the militia from the south were drawn up to Philadelphia. +He adopted this course because he felt confident that Howe would never +cross the Delaware and leave the main army of the Americans behind +him. His theory proved correct. The British advanced and retreated, +burned houses and villages and made feints, but all in vain. +Washington baffled them at every point, and finally Sir William +evacuated the Jerseys entirely and withdrew to New York and Staten +Island, where active preparations for some expedition were at once +begun. Again came anxious watching, with the old fear that Howe meant +to go northward and join the now advancing Burgoyne. The fear was +groundless. On July 23 the British fleet set sail from New York, +carrying between fifteen and eighteen thousand men. Not deceived by +the efforts to make him think that they aimed at Boston, but still +fearing that the sailing might be only a ruse and the Hudson the real +object after all, Washington moved cautiously to the Delaware, holding +himself ready to strike in either direction. On the 31st he heard that +the enemy were at the Capes. This seemed decisive; so he sent in +all directions for reinforcements, moved the main army rapidly to +Germantown, and prepared to defend Philadelphia. The next news was +that the fleet had put to sea again, and again messengers went north +to warn Putnam to prepare for the defense of the Hudson. Washington +himself was about to re-cross the Delaware, when tidings arrived that +the fleet had once more appeared at the Capes, and after a few more +days of doubt the ships came up the Chesapeake and anchored. + +Washington thought the "route a strange one," but he knew now that he +was right in his belief that Howe aimed at Philadelphia. He therefore +gathered his forces and marched south to meet the enemy, passing +through the city in order to impress the disaffected and the timid +with the show of force. It was a motley array that followed him. There +was nothing uniform about the troops except their burnished arms and +the sprigs of evergreen in their hats. Nevertheless Lafayette, who had +just come among them, thought that they looked like good soldiers, and +the Tories woke up sharply to the fact that there was a large body of +men known as the American army, and that they had a certain obvious +fighting capacity visible in their appearance. Neither friends nor +enemies knew, however, as they stood on the Philadelphia sidewalks +and watched the troops go past, that the mere fact of that army's +existence was the greatest victory of skill and endurance which +the war could show, and that the question of success lay in its +continuance. + +Leaving Philadelphia, Washington pushed on to the junction of the +Brandywine and Christiana Creek, and posted his men along the heights. +August 25, Howe landed at the Head of Elk, and Washington threw out +light parties to drive in cattle, carry off supplies, and annoy the +enemy. This was done, on the whole, satisfactorily, and after some +successful skirmishing on the part of the Americans, the two armies +on the 5th of September found themselves within eight or ten miles of +each other. Washington now determined to risk a battle in the field, +despite his inferiority in every way. He accordingly issued a +stirring proclamation to the soldiers, and then fell back behind the +Brandywine, to a strong position, and prepared to contest the passage +of the river. + +Early on September 11, the British advanced to Chad's Ford, where +Washington was posted with the main body, and after some skirmishing +began to cannonade at long range. Meantime Cornwallis, with the main +body, made a long detour of seventeen miles, and came upon the right +flank and rear of the Americans. Sullivan, who was on the right, had +failed to guard the fords above, and through lack of information was +practically surprised. Washington, on rumors that the enemy were +marching toward his right, with the instinct of a great soldier was +about to cross the river in his front and crush the enemy there, but +he also was misled and kept back by false reports. When the truth was +known, it was too late. The right wing had been beaten and flung back, +the enemy were nearly in the rear, and were now advancing in earnest +in front. All that man could do was done. Troops were pushed forward +and a gallant stand was made at various points; but the critical +moment had come and gone, and there was nothing for it but a hasty +retreat, which came near degenerating into a rout. + +The causes of this complete defeat, for such it was, are easily seen. +Washington had planned his battle and chosen his position well. If he +had not been deceived by the first reports, he even then would have +fallen upon and overwhelmed the British centre before they could +have reached his right wing. But the Americans, to begin with, were +outnumbered. They had only eleven thousand effective men, while the +British brought fifteen of their eighteen thousand into action. Then +the Americans suffered, as they constantly did, from misinformation, +and from an absence of system in learning the enemy's movements. +Washington's attack was fatally checked in this way, and Sullivan +was surprised from the same causes, as well as from his own culpable +ignorance of the country beyond him, which was the reason of his +failure to guard the upper fords. The Americans lost, also, by the +unsteadiness of new troops when the unexpected happens, and when +the panic-bearing notion that they are surprised and likely to be +surrounded comes upon them with a sudden shock. + +This defeat was complete and severe, and it was followed in a few days +by that of Wayne, who narrowly escaped utter ruin. Yet through all +this disaster we can see the advance which had been made since the +equally unfortunate and very similar battle on Long Island. Then, the +troops seemed to lose heart and courage, the army was held together +with difficulty, and could do nothing but retreat. Now, in the few +days which Howe, as usual, gave his opponent with such fatal effect to +himself, Washington rallied his army, and finding them in excellent +spirits marched down the Lancaster road to fight again. On the eve of +battle a heavy storm came on, which so injured the arms and munitions +that with bitter disappointment he was obliged to withdraw; but +nevertheless it is plain how much this forward movement meant. At the +moment, however, it looked badly enough, especially after the defeat +of Wayne, for Howe pressed forward, took possession of Philadelphia, +and encamped the main body of his army at Germantown. + +Meantime Washington, who had not in the least given up his idea of +fighting again, recruited his army, and having a little more than +eight thousand men, determined to try another stroke at the British, +while they were weakened by detachments. On the night of October 3 he +started, and reached Germantown at daybreak on the 4th. At first the +Americans swept everything before them, and flung the British back +in rout and confusion. Then matters began to go wrong, as is always +likely to happen when, as in this case, widely separated and yet +accurately concerted action is essential to success. Some of the +British threw themselves into a stone house, and instead of leaving +them there under guard, the whole army stopped to besiege, and a +precious half hour was lost. Then Greene and Stephen were late in +coming up, having made a circuit, and although when they arrived all +seemed to go well, the Americans were seized with an inexplicable +panic, and fell back, as Wayne truly said, in the very moment of +victory. One of those unlucky accidents, utterly unavoidable, but +always dangerous to extensive combinations, had a principal effect on +the result. The morning was very misty, and the fog, soon thickened by +the smoke, caused confusion, random firing, and, worst of all, that +uncertainty of feeling and action which something or nothing converted +into a panic. Nevertheless, the Americans rallied quickly this time, +and a good retreat was made, under the lead of Greene, until safety +was reached. The action, while it lasted, had been very sharp, and the +losses on both sides were severe, the Americans suffering most. + +Washington, as usual when matters went ill, exposed himself +recklessly, to the great alarm of his generals, but all in vain. He +was deeply disappointed, and expressed himself so at first, for he saw +that the men had unaccountably given way when they were on the edge +of victory. The underlying cause was of course, as at Long Island +and Brandywine, the unsteadiness of raw troops, and Washington felt +rightly, after the first sting had passed, that he had really achieved +a great deal. Congress applauded the attempt, and when the smoke of +the battle had cleared away, men generally perceived that its having +been fought at all was in reality the important fact. It made also +a profound impression upon the French cabinet. Eagerly watching the +course of events, they saw the significance of the fact that an army +raised within a year could fight a battle in the open field, endure +a severe defeat, and then take the offensive and make a bold and +well-planned attack, which narrowly missed being overwhelmingly +successful. To the observant and trained eyes of Europe, the defeat +at Germantown made it evident that there was fighting material among +these untrained colonists, capable of becoming formidable; and that +there was besides a powerful will and directing mind, capable on +its part of bringing this same material into the required shape and +condition. To dispassionate onlookers, England's grasp on her colonies +appeared to be slipping away very rapidly. Washington himself saw the +meaning of it all plainly enough, for it was but the development of +his theory of carrying on the war. + +There is no indication, however, that England detected, in all that +had gone on since her army landed at the Head of Elk, anything more +than a couple of natural defeats for the rebels. General Howe was +sufficiently impressed to draw in his troops, and keep very closely +shut up in Philadelphia, but his country was not moved at all. The +fact that it had taken forty-seven days to get their army from the +Elk River to Philadelphia, and that in that time they had fought two +successful battles and yet had left the American army still active +and menacing, had no effect upon the British mind. The English were +thoroughly satisfied that the colonists were cowards and were sure to +be defeated, no matter what the actual facts might be. They regarded +Washington as an upstart militia colonel, and they utterly failed to +comprehend that they had to do with a great soldier, who was able to +organize and lead an army, overcome incredible difficulties, beat and +outgeneral them, bear defeat, and then fight again. They were unable +to realize that the mere fact that such a man could be produced and +such an army maintained meant the inevitable loss of colonies three +thousand miles away. Men there were in England, undoubtedly, like +Burke and Fox, who felt and understood the significance of these +things, but the mass of the people, as well as the aristocracy, the +king, and the cabinet, would have none of them. Rude contempt for +other people is a warming and satisfying feeling, no doubt, and the +English have had unquestionably great satisfaction from its free +indulgence. No one should grudge it to them, least of all Americans. +It is a comfort for which they have paid, so far as this country is +concerned, by the loss of their North American colonies, and by a few +other settlements with the United States at other and later times. + +But although Washington and his army failed to impress England, events +had happened in the north, during this same summer, which were so +sharp-pointed that they not only impressed the English people keenly +and unpleasantly, but they actually penetrated the dull comprehension +of George III. and his cabinet. "Why," asked an English lady of an +American naval officer, in the year of grace 1887--"why is your ship +named the Saratoga?" "Because," was the reply, "at Saratoga an English +general and an English army of more than five thousand men surrendered +to an American army and laid down their arms." Although apparently +neglected now in the general scheme of British education, Saratoga +was a memorable event in the summer of 1777, and the part taken by +Washington in bringing about the great result has never, it would +seem, been properly set forth. There is no need to trace here the +history of that campaign, but it is necessary to show how much was +done by the commander-in-chief, five hundred miles away, to win the +final victory. + +In the winter of 1776-77 reports came that a general and an army were +to be sent to Canada to invade the colonies from the north by way +of Lake Champlain. The news does not seem to have made a very deep +impression generally, nor to have been regarded as anything beyond +the ordinary course of military events. But there was one man, +fortunately, who in an instant perceived the full significance of this +movement. Washington saw that the English had at last found an idea, +or, at least, a general possessed of one. So long as the British +confined themselves to fighting one or two battles, and then, taking +possession of a single town, were content to sit down and pass their +winter in good quarters, leaving the colonists in undisturbed control +of all the rest of the country, there was nothing to be feared. The +result of such campaigning as this could not be doubtful for a moment +to any clear-sighted man. But when a plan was on foot, which, if +successful, meant the control of the lakes and the Hudson, and of a +line of communication from the north to the great colonial seaport, +the case was very different. Such a campaign as this would cause +the complete severance of New England, the chief source for men and +supplies, from the rest of the colonies. It promised the mastery, not +of a town, but of half a dozen States, and this to the American cause +probably would be ruin. + +So strongly and clearly did Washington feel all this that his +counter-plan was at once ready, and before people had fairly grasped +the idea that there was to be a northern invasion, he was sending, +early in March, urgent letters to New England to rouse up the militia +and have them in readiness to march at a moment's notice. To Schuyler, +in command of the northern department, he began now to write +constantly, and to unfold the methods which must be pursued in order +to compass the defeat of the invaders. His object was to delay the +army of Burgoyne by every possible device, while steadily avoiding a +pitched battle. Then the militia and hardy farmers of New England and +New York were to be rallied, and were to fall upon the flank and +rear of the British, harass them constantly, cut off their outlying +parties, and finally hem them in and destroy them. If the army and +people of the North could only be left undisturbed, it is evident from +his letters that Washington felt no doubt as to the result in that +quarter. + +But the North included only half the conditions essential to success. +The grave danger feared by Washington was that Howe would understand +the situation, and seeing his opportunity, would throw everything else +aside, and marching northward with twenty thousand men, would make +himself master of the Hudson, effect a junction with Burgoyne at +Albany, and so cut the colonies in twain. From all he could learn, +and from his knowledge of his opponents' character, Washington felt +satisfied that Howe intended to capture Philadelphia, advancing, +probably, through the Jerseys. Yet, despite his well-reasoned judgment +on this point, it seemed so incredible that any soldier could fail to +see that decisive victory lay in the north, and in a junction with +Burgoyne, that Washington could not really and fully believe in such +fatuity until he knew that Howe was actually landing at the Head +of Elk. This is the reason for the anxiety displayed in the +correspondence of that summer, for the changing and shifting +movements, and for the obvious hesitation of opinion, so unusual with +Washington at any time. Be it remembered, moreover, that it was an +awful doubt which went to bed and got up and walked with him through +all those long nights and days. If Howe, the dull and lethargic, +should awake from his dream of conquering America by taking now and +again an isolated town, and should break for the north with twenty +thousand men, the fortunes of the young republic would come to their +severest test. + +In that event, Washington knew well enough what he meant to do. He +would march his main army to the Hudson, unite with the strong body +of troops which he kept there constantly, contest every inch of the +country and the river with Howe, and keep him at all hazards from +getting to Albany. But he also knew well that if this were done the +odds would be fearfully against him, for Howe would then not only +outnumber him very greatly, but there would be ample time for the +British to act, and but a short distance to be covered. We can +imagine, therefore, his profound sense of relief when he found that +Howe and his army were really south of Philadelphia, after a waste of +many precious weeks. He could now devote himself single-hearted to the +defense of the city, for distance and time were at last on his side, +and all that remained was to fight Howe so hard and steadily that +neither in victory nor defeat would he remember Burgoyne. Pitt said +that he would conquer Canada on the plains of Germany, and Burgoyne +was compelled to surrender in large measure by the campaign of +Washington in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. + +If we study carefully Washington's correspondence during that eventful +summer, grouping together that relating to the northern campaign, and +comparing it with that which dealt with the affairs of his own army, +all that has just been said comes out with entire clearness, and it is +astonishing to see how exactly events justified his foresight. If +he could only hold Howe in the south, he was quite willing to trust +Burgoyne to the rising of the people and to the northern wilderness. +Every effort he made was in this direction, beginning, as has been +said, by his appeals to the New England governors in March. Schuyler, +on his part, was thoroughly imbued with Washington's other leading +idea, that the one way to victory was by retarding the enemy. At the +outset everything went utterly and disastrously wrong. Washington +counted on an obstinate struggle, and a long delay at Ticonderoga, for +he had not been on the ground, and could not imagine that our officers +would fortify everything but the one commanding point. + +The loss of the forts appalled the country and disappointed +Washington, but did not shake his nerve for an instant. He wrote to +Schuyler: "This stroke is severe indeed, and has distressed us much. +But notwithstanding things at present have a dark and gloomy aspect, +I hope a spirited opposition will check the progress of General +Burgoyne's army, and that the confidence derived from his success will +hurry him into measures that will, in their consequences, be favorable +to us. We should never despair; our situation has before been +unpromising, and has changed for the better; so I trust it will again. +If new difficulties arise we must only put forth new exertions, and +proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times." Even after this +seemingly crushing defeat he still felt sure of Burgoyne, so long as +he was unsupported. Suiting the action to the word, he again bent +every nerve to rouse New England and get out her militia. When he was +satisfied that Howe was landing below Philadelphia, the first thing he +did was to send forth the same cry in the same quarter, to bring out +more men against Burgoyne. He showed, too, the utmost generosity +toward the northern army, sending thither all the troops he could +possibly spare, and even parting with his favorite corps of Morgan's +riflemen. Despite his liberality, the commanders in the north +were unreasonable in their demands, and when they asked too much, +Washington flatly declined to send more men, for he would not weaken +himself unduly, and he knew what they did not see, that the fate of +the northern invasion turned largely on his own ability to cope with +Howe. + +The blame for the loss of the forts fell of course upon Schuyler, +who was none too popular in Congress, and who with St. Clair was +accordingly made a scape-goat. Congress voted that Washington should +appoint a new commander, and the New England delegates visited him to +urge the selection of Gates. This task Washington refused to perform, +alleging as a reason that the northern department had always been +considered a separate command, and that he had never done more than +advise. These reasons do not look very weighty or very strong, and it +is not quite clear what the underlying motive was. Washington never +shrank from responsibility, and he knew very well that he could pick +out the best man more unerringly than Congress. But he also saw +that Congress favored Gates, whom he would not have chosen, and he +therefore probably felt that it was more important to have some one +whom New England believed in and approved than a better soldier who +would have been unwelcome to her representatives. It is certain that +he would not have acted thus, had he thought that generalship was an +important element in the problem; but he relied on a popular uprising, +and not on the commander, to defeat Burgoyne. He may have thought, +too, that it was a mistake to relieve Schuyler, who was working in the +directions which he had pointed out, and who, if not a great soldier, +was a brave, high-minded, and sensible man, devoted to his chief and +to the country. It was Schuyler indeed who, by his persistent labor in +breaking down bridges, tearing up roads, and felling trees, while he +gathered men industriously in all directions, did more than any one +else at that moment to prepare the way for an ultimate victory. + +Whatever his feelings may have been in regard to the command of the +northern department, Washington made no change in his own course after +Gates had been appointed. He knew that Gates was at least harmless, +and not likely to block the natural course of events. He therefore +felt free to press his own policy without cessation, and without +apprehension. He took care that Lincoln and Arnold should be there to +look after the New England militia, and he wrote to Governor Clinton, +in whose energy and courage he had great confidence, to rouse up the +men of New York. He suggested the points of attack, and at every +moment advised and counseled and watched, holding all the while a firm +grip on Howe. Slowly and surely the net, thus painfully set, tightened +round Burgoyne. The New Englanders whipped one division at Bennington, +and the New Yorkers shattered another at Oriskany and Fort Schuyler. +The country people turned out in defense of their invaded homes and +poured into the American camp. Burgoyne struggled and advanced, +fought and retreated. Gates, stupid, lethargic, and good-natured, did +nothing, but there was no need of generalship; and Arnold was there, +turbulent and quarrelsome, but full of daring; and Morgan, too, +equally ready; and they and others did all the necessary fighting. + +Poor Burgoyne, a brave gentleman, if not a great general, had +the misfortune to be a clever man in the service of a stupid +administration, and he met the fate usually meted out under such +circumstances to men of ideas. Howe went off to the conquest of +Philadelphia, Clinton made a brief burning and plundering raid up the +river, and the northern invasion, which really had meaning, was left +to its fate. It was a hard fate, but there was no escape. Outnumbered, +beaten, and caught, Burgoyne surrendered. If there had been a +fighting-man at the head of the American army, the British would have +surrendered as prisoners of war, and not on conditions. Schuyler, we +may be sure, whatever his failings, would never have let them off +so easily. But it was sufficient as it was. The wilderness, and the +militia of New York and New England swarming to the defense of their +homes, had done the work. It all fell out just as Washington had +foreseen and planned, and England, despising her enemy and their +commander, saw one of her armies surrender, and might have known, if +she had had the wit, that the colonies were now lost forever. The +Revolution had been saved at Trenton; it was established at Saratoga. +In the one case it was the direct, in the other the indirect, work of +Washington. + +Poor Gates, with his dull brain turning under the impression that this +crowning mercy had been his own doing, lost his head, forgot that +there was a commander-in-chief, and sending his news to Congress, left +Washington to find out from chance rumors, and a tardy letter from +Putnam, that Burgoyne had actually surrendered. This gross slight, +however, had deeper roots than the mere exultation of victory acting +on a heavy and common mind. It represented a hostile feeling which +had been slowly increasing for some time, which had been carefully +nurtured by those interested in its growth, and which blossomed +rapidly in the heated air of military triumph. From the outset it had +been Washington's business to fight the enemy, manage the army, +deal with Congress, and consider in all its bearings the political +situation at home and abroad; but he was now called upon to meet a +trouble outside the line of duty, and to face attacks from within, +which, ideally speaking, ought never to have existed, but which, in +view of our very fallible humanity, were certain to come sooner or +later. Much domestic malice Washington was destined to encounter in +the later years of political strife, but this was the only instance in +his military career where enmity came to overt action and open speech. +The first and the last of its kind, this assault upon him has much +interest, for a strong light is thrown upon his character by studying +him, thus beset, and by seeing just how he passed through this most +trying and disagreeable of ordeals. + +The germ of the difficulties was to be found where we should expect +it, in the differences between the men of speech and the man of +action, between the lawmakers and the soldier. Washington had been +obliged to tell Congress a great many plain and unpleasant truths. +It was part of his duty, and he did it accordingly. He was always +dignified, calm, and courteous, but he had an alarmingly direct way +with him, especially when he was annoyed. He was simple almost to +bluntness, but now and then would use a grave irony which must +have made listening ears tingle. Congress was patriotic and +well-intentioned, and on the whole stood bravely by its general, +but it was unversed in war, very impatient, and at times wildly +impracticable. Here is a letter which depicts the situation, and the +relation between the general and his rulers, with great clearness. +March 14, 1777, Washington wrote to the President: "Could I accomplish +the important objects so eagerly wished by Congress,--'confining the +enemy within their present quarters, preventing their getting +supplies from the country, and totally subduing them before they are +reinforced,'--I should be happy indeed. But what prospect or hope can +there be of my effecting so desirable a work at this time?" + +We can imagine how exasperating such requests and suggestions must +have been. It was very much as if Congress had said: "Good General, +bring in the Atlantic tides and drown the enemy; or pluck the moon +from the sky and give it to us, as a mark of your loyalty." Such +requests are not soothing to any man struggling his best with great +anxieties, and with a host of petty cares. Washington, nevertheless, +kept his temper, and replied only by setting down a few hard facts +which answered the demands of Congress in a final manner, and with all +the sting of truth. Thus a little irritation had been generated +in Congress against the general, and there were some members who +developed a good deal of pronounced hostility. Sam Adams, a born +agitator and a trained politician, unequaled almost in our history as +an organizer and manager of men, able, narrow, coldly fierce, the man +of the town meeting and the caucus, had no possibility of intellectual +sympathy with the silent, patient, hard-gripping soldier, hemmed with +difficulties, but ever moving straight forward to his object, with +occasional wild gusts of reckless fighting passion. John Adams, too, +brilliant of speech and pen, ardent, patriotic, and high-minded, +was, in his way, out of touch with Washington. Although he moved +Washington's appointment, he began almost immediately to find fault +with him, an exercise to which he was extremely prone. Inasmuch as he +could see how things ought to be done, he could not understand +why they were not done in that way at once, for he had a fine +forgetfulness of other people's difficulties, as is the case with most +of us. The New England representatives generally took their cue from +these two, especially James Lovell, who carried his ideas into action, +and obtained a little niche in the temple of fame by making +himself disagreeably conspicuous in the intrigue against the +commander-in-chief, when it finally developed. + +There were others, too, outside New England who were discontented, and +among them Richard Henry Lee, from the General's own State. He was +evidently critical and somewhat unfriendly at this time, although the +reasons for his being so are not now very distinct. Then there was Mr. +Clark of New Jersey, an excellent man, who thought the General was +invading popular rights; and to him others might be added who vaguely +felt that things ought to be better than they were. This party, +adverse to Washington, obtained the appointment of Gates to the +northern department, under whom the army won a great victory, and they +were correspondingly happy. John Adams wrote his wife that one +cause of thanksgiving was that the tide had not been turned by the +commander-in-chief and southern troops, for the adulation would have +been intolerable; and that a man may be wise and virtuous and not a +deity. + +Here, so far as the leading and influential men were concerned, the +matter would have dropped, probably; but there were lesser men like +Lovell who were much encouraged by the surrender of Burgoyne, and who +thought that they now might supplant Washington with Gates. Before +long, too, they found in the army itself some active and not +over-scrupulous allies. The most conspicuous figure among the military +malcontents was Gates himself, who, although sluggish in all things, +still had a keen eye for his own advancement. He showed plainly how +much his head had been turned by the victory at Saratoga when he +failed to inform Washington of the fact, and when he afterward delayed +sending back troops until he was driven to it by the determined energy +of Hamilton, who was sent to bring him to reason. Next in importance +to Gates was Thomas Mifflin, an ardent patriot, but a rather +light-headed person, who espoused the opposition to Washington for +causes now somewhat misty, but among which personal vanity played no +inconsiderable part. About these two leaders gathered a certain number +of inferior officers of no great moment then or since. + +The active and moving spirit in the party, however, was one Conway, an +Irish adventurer, who made himself so prominent that the whole affair +passed into history bearing his name, and the "Conway cabal" has +obtained an enduring notoriety which its hero never acquired by any +public services. Conway was one of the foreign officers who had gained +the favor of Congress and held the rank of brigadier-general, but this +by no means filled the measure of his pretensions, and when De Kalb +was made a major-general Conway immediately started forward with +claims to the same rank. He received strong support from the factious +opposition, and there was so much stir that Washington sharply +interfered, for to his general objection to these lavish gifts of +excessive rank was added an especial distrust in this particular +case. In his calm way he had evidently observed Conway, and with his +unerring judgment of men had found him wanting. "I may add," he wrote +to Lee, "and I think with truth, that it will give a fatal blow to +the existence of the army. Upon so interesting a subject I must speak +plainly. General Conway's merit then as an officer, and his importance +in this army, exist more in his own imagination than in reality." +This plain talk soon reached Conway, drove him at once into furious +opposition, and caused him to impart to the faction a cohesion and +vigor which they had before lacked. Circumstances favored them. The +victory at Saratoga gave them something tangible to go upon, and the +first move was made when Gates failed to inform Washington of the +surrender, and then held back the troops sent for so urgently by the +commander-in-chief, who had sacrificed so much from his own army to +secure that of the north. + +At this very moment, indeed, when Washington was calling for troops, +he was struggling with the utmost tenacity to hold control of the +Delaware. He made every arrangement possible to maintain the forts, +and the first assaults upon them were repulsed with great slaughter, +the British in the attack on Fort Mercer losing Count Donop, the +leader, and four hundred men. Then came a breathing space, and then +the attacks were renewed, supported by vessels, and both forts were +abandoned after the works had been leveled to the ground by the +enemy's fire. Meanwhile Hamilton, sent to the north, had done his +work; Gates had been stirred, and Putnam, well-meaning but stubborn, +had been sharply brought to his bearings. Reinforcements had come, and +Washington meditated an attack on Philadelphia. There was a good deal +of clamor for something brilliant and decisive, for both the army and +the public were a little dizzy from the effects of Saratoga, and with +sublime blindness to different conditions, could not see why the same +performance should not be repeated to order everywhere else. To oppose +this wish was trying, doubly trying to a man eager to fight, and with +his full share of the very human desire to be as successful as his +neighbor. It required great nerve to say No; but Washington did not +lack that quality, and as general and statesman he reconnoitred the +enemy's works, weighed the chances, said No decisively, and took up an +almost impregnable position at White Marsh. Thereupon Howe announced +that he would drive Washington beyond the mountains, and on December +4 he approached the American lines with this highly proper purpose. +There was some skirmishing along the foot of the hills of an +unimportant character, and on the third day Washington, in high +spirits, thought an attack would be made, and rode among the soldiers +directing and encouraging them. Nothing came of it, however, but more +skirmishing, and the next day Howe marched back to Philadelphia. He +had offered battle in all ways, he had invited action; but again, with +the same pressure both from his own spirit and from public opinion, +Washington had said No. On his own ground he was more than ready to +fight Howe, but despite the terrible temptation he would fight on no +other. Not the least brilliant exploit of Wellington was the retreat +to the shrewdly prepared lines of Torres Vedras, and one of the most +difficult successes of Washington was his double refusal to fight as +the year 1777 drew to a close. + +Like most right and wise things, Washington's action looks now, a +century later, so plainly sensible that it is hard to imagine how any +one could have questioned it; and one cannot, without a great effort, +realize the awful strain upon will and temper involved in thus +refusing battle. If the proposed attack on Philadelphia had failed, or +if our army had come down from the hills and been beaten in the fields +below, no American army would have remained. The army of the north, of +which men were talking so proudly, had done its work and dispersed. +The fate of the Revolution rested where it had been from the +beginning, with Washington and his soldiers. Drive them beyond the +mountains and there was no other army to fall back upon. On their +existence everything hinged, and when Howe got back to Philadelphia, +there they were still existent, still coherent, hovering on his flank, +cooping him up in his lines, and leaving him master of little more +than the ground his men encamped upon, and the streets his sentinels +patrolled. When Franklin was told in Paris that Howe had taken +Philadelphia, his reply was, "Philadelphia has taken Howe." + +But, with the exception of Franklin, contemporary opinion in the month +of December, 1777, was very different from that of to-day, and the +cabal had been at work ever since the commander-in-chief had stepped +between Conway and the exorbitant rank he coveted. Washington, indeed, +was perfectly aware of what was going on. He was quiet and dignified, +impassive and silent, but he knew when men, whether great or small, +were plotting against him, and he watched them with the same keenness +as he did Howe and the British. + +In the midst of his struggle to hold the Delaware forts, and of his +efforts to get back his troops from the north, a story came to him +that arrested his attention. Wilkinson, of Gates's staff, had come to +Congress with the news of the surrender. He had been fifteen days on +the road and three days getting his papers in order, and when it was +proposed to give him a sword, Roger Sherman suggested that they had +better "give the lad a pair of spurs." This thrust and some delay +seem to have nettled Wilkinson, who was swelling with importance, and +although he was finally made a brigadier-general, he rode off to the +north much ruffled. In later years Wilkinson was secretive enough; but +in his hot youth he could not hold his tongue, and on his way back to +Gates he talked. What he said was marked and carried to headquarters, +and on November 9 Washington wrote to Conway:-- + + "A letter which I received last night contained the following + paragraph,--'In a letter from General Conway to General Gates he + says, "_Heaven has determined to save your country, or a weak + general and bad counsellors would have ruined it_" I am, sir, your + humble servant,'" etc. + +This curt note fell upon Conway with stunning effect. It is said that +he tried to apologize, and he certainly resigned. As for Gates, he +fell to writing letters filled with expressions of wonder as to who +had betrayed him, and writhed most pitiably under the exposure. +Washington's replies are models of cold dignity, and the calm +indifference with which he treated the whole matter, while holding +Gates to the point with relentless grasp, is very interesting. The +cabal was seriously shaken by this sudden blow. It must have dawned +upon them dimly that they might have mistaken their man, and that the +silent soldier was perhaps not so easy to dispose of by an intrigue as +they had fancied. Nevertheless, they rallied, and taking advantage of +the feeling in Congress created by Burgoyne's surrender, they set to +work to get control of military matters. The board of war was enlarged +to five, with Gates at its head and Mifflin a member, and, thus +constituted, it proceeded to make Conway inspector-general, with the +rank of major-general. This, after Conway's conduct, was a direct +insult to Washington, and marks the highest point attained by his +opponents. + +In Congress, too, they became more active, and John Jay said that +there was in that body a party bitterly hostile to Washington. We know +little of the members of that faction now, for they never took the +trouble to refer to the matter in after years, and did everything that +silence could do to have it all forgotten. But the party existed none +the less, and significant letters have come down to us, one of them +written by Lovell, and two anonymous, addressed respectively to +Patrick Henry and to Laurens, then president, which show a bitter and +vindictive spirit, and breathe but one purpose. The same thought is +constantly reiterated, that with a good general the northern army had +won a great victory, and that the main army, if commanded in the same +way, would do likewise. The plan was simple and coherent. The cabal +wished to drive Washington out of power and replace him with Gates. +With this purpose they wrote to Henry and Laurens; with this purpose +they made Conway inspector-general. + +When they turned from intrigue to action, however, they began to fail. +One of their pet schemes was the conquest of Canada, and with +this object Lafayette was sent to the lakes, only to find that no +preparations had been made, because the originators of the idea were +ignorant and inefficient. The expedition promptly collapsed and was +abandoned, with much instruction in consequence to Congress and +people. Under their control the commissariat also went hopelessly to +pieces, and a committee of Congress proceeded to Valley Forge and +found that in this direction, too, the new managers had grievously +failed. Then the original Conway letter, uncovered so unceremoniously +by Washington, kept returning to plague its author. Gates's +correspondence went on all through the winter, and with every letter +Gates floundered more and more, and Washington's replies grew more +and more freezing and severe. Gates undertook to throw the blame on +Wilkinson, who became loftily indignant and challenged him. The two +made up their quarrel very soon in a ludicrous manner, but Wilkinson +in the interval had an interview with Washington, which revealed an +amount of duplicity and perfidy on the part of the cabal, so shocking +to the former's sensitive nature, that he resigned his secretaryship +of the board of war on account, as he frankly said, of the treachery +and falsehood of Gates. Such a quarrel of course hurt the cabal, but +it was still more weakened by Gates himself, whose only idea seemed +to be to supersede Washington by slighting him, refusing troops, and +declining to propose his health at dinner,--methods as unusual as they +were feeble. + +The cabal, in fact, was so weak in ability and character that the +moment any responsibility fell upon its members it was certain to +break down, but the absolutely fatal obstacle to its schemes was the +man it aimed to overthrow. The idea evidently was that Washington +could be driven to resign. They knew that they could not get either +Congress or public opinion to support them in removing him, but they +believed that a few well-placed slights and insults would make him +remove himself. It was just here that they made their mistake. +Washington, as they were aware, was sensitive and high-spirited to +the last degree, and he had no love for office, but he was not one of +those weaklings who leave power and place in a pet because they are +criticised and assailed. He was not ambitious in the ordinary personal +sense, but he had a passion for success. Whether it was breaking a +horse, or reclaiming land, or fighting Indians, or saving a state, +whatever he set his hand to, that he carried through to the end. With +him there never was any shadow of turning back. When, without any +self-seeking, he was placed at the head of the Revolution, he made +up his mind that he would carry it through everything to victory, if +victory were possible. Death or a prison could stop him, but neither +defeat nor neglect, and still less the forces of intrigue and cabal. + +When he wrote to his brother announcing Burgoyne's surrender, he had +nothing to say of the slight Gates put upon him, but merely added in +a postscript, "I most devoutly congratulate my country and every +well-wisher to the cause on this signal stroke of Providence." This +was his tone to every one, both in private and public. His complaint +of not being properly notified he made to Gates alone, and put it in +the form of a rebuke. He knew of the movement against him from the +beginning, but apparently the first person he confided in was Conway, +when he sent him the brief note of November 9. Even after the cabal +was fully developed, he wrote about it only once or twice, when +compelled to do so, and there is no evidence that he ever talked about +it except, perhaps, to a few most intimate friends. In a letter to +Patrick Henry he said that he was obliged to allow a false impression +as to his strength to go abroad, and that he suffered in consequence; +and he added, with a little touch of feeling, that while the +yeomanry of New York and New England poured into the camp of Gates, +outnumbering the enemy two to one, he could get no aid of that sort +from Pennsylvania, and still marvels were demanded of him. + +Thus he went on his way through the winter, silent except when obliged +to answer some friend, and always ready to meet his enemies. When +Conway complained to Congress of his reception at camp, Washington +wrote the president that he was not given to dissimulation, and that +he certainly had been cold in his manner. He wrote to Lafayette that +slander had been busy, and that he had urged his officers to be +cool and dispassionate as to Conway, adding, "I have no doubt that +everything happens for the best, that we shall triumph over all our +misfortunes, and in the end be happy; when, my dear Marquis, if you +will give me your company in Virginia, we will laugh at our past +difficulties and the folly of others." But though he wrote thus +lightly to his friends, he followed Gates sternly enough, and kept +that gentleman occupied as he drove him from point to point. Among +other things he touched upon Conway's character with sharp irony, +saying, "It is, however, greatly to be lamented that this adept in +military science did not employ his abilities in the progress of the +campaign, in pointing out those wise measures which were calculated to +give us 'that degree of success we could reasonably expect.'" + +Poor Gates did not find these letters pleasant reading, and one more +curt note, on February 24, finished the controversy. By that time the +cabal was falling to pieces, and in a little while was dispersed. +Wilkinson's resignation was accepted, Mifflin was put under +Washington's orders, and Gates was sent to his command in the north. +Conway resigned one day in a pet, and found his resignation accepted +and his power gone with unpleasant suddenness. He then got into a +quarrel with General Cadwalader on account of his attacks on the +commander-in-chief. The quarrel ended in a duel. Conway was badly +wounded, and thinking himself dying, wrote a contrite note of apology +to Washington, then recovered, left the country, and disappeared from +the ken of history. Thus domestic malice and the "bitter party" in +Congress failed and perished. They had dashed themselves in vain +against the strong man who held firmly both soldiers and people. +"While the public are satisfied with my endeavors, I mean not to +shrink from the cause." So Washington wrote to Gordon as the cabal +was coming to an end, and in that spirit he crushed silently and +thoroughly the faction that sought to thwart his purpose, and drive +him from office by sneers, slights, and intrigues. + +These attacks upon him came at the darkest moment of his military +career. Defeated at Brandywine and Germantown, he had been forced from +the forts after a desperate struggle, had seen Philadelphia and the +river fall completely into the hands of the enemy, and, bitterest of +all, he had been obliged to hold back from another assault on the +British lines, and to content himself with baffling Howe when that +gentleman came out and offered battle. Then the enemy withdrew to +their comfortable quarters, and he was left to face again the harsh +winter and the problem of existence. It was the same ever recurring +effort to keep the American army, and thereby the American Revolution, +alive. There was nothing in this task to stir the blood and rouse the +heart. It was merely a question of grim tenacity of purpose and of the +ability to comprehend its overwhelming importance. It was not a work +that appealed to or inspirited any one, and to carry it through to a +successful issue rested with the commander-in-chief alone. + +In the frost and snow he withdrew to Valley Forge, within easy +striking distance of Philadelphia. He had literally nothing to rely +upon but his own stern will and strong head. His soldiers, steadily +dwindling in numbers, marked their road to Valley Forge by the blood +from their naked feet. They were destitute and in rags. When they +reached their destination they had no shelter, and it was only by the +energy and ingenuity of the General that they were led to build huts, +and thus secure a measure of protection against the weather. There +were literally no supplies, and the Board of War failed completely to +remedy the evil. The army was in such straits that it was obliged +to seize by force the commonest necessaries. This was a desperate +expedient and shocked public opinion, which Washington, as a +statesman, watched and cultivated as an essential element of success +in his difficult business. He disliked to take extreme measures, but +there was nothing else to be done when his men were starving, when +nearly three thousand of them were unfit for duty because "barefoot +and otherwise naked," and when a large part of the army were obliged +to sit up all night by the fires for warmth's sake, having no blankets +with which to cover themselves if they lay down. With nothing to eat, +nothing to burn, nothing wherewith to clothe themselves, wasting away +from exposure and disease, we can only wonder at the forbearance which +stayed the hand of violent seizure so long. Yet, as Washington had +foreseen, there was even then an outcry against him. Nevertheless, his +action ultimately did more good than harm in the very matter of public +opinion, for it opened men's eyes, and led to some tardy improvements +and some increased effort. + +Worse even than this criticism was the remonstrance of the legislature +of Pennsylvania against the going into winter-quarters. They expected +Washington to keep the open field, and even to attack the British, +with his starving, ragged army, in all the severity of a northern +winter. They had failed him at every point and in every promise, in +men, clothing, and supplies. They were not content that he covered +their State and kept the Revolution alive among the huts of Valley +Forge. They wished the impossible. They asked for the moon, and then +cried out because it was not given to them. It was a stupid, unkind +thing to do, and Washington answered their complaints in a letter to +the president of Congress. After setting forth the shortcomings of the +Pennsylvanians in the very plainest of plain English, he said: "But +what makes this matter still more extraordinary in my eye is that +these very gentlemen should think a winter's campaign, and the +covering of these States from the invasion of an enemy, so easy and +practicable a business. I can answer those gentlemen, that it is a +much easier and less distressing thing to draw remonstrances in a +comfortable room, by a good fireside, than to occupy a cold, bleak +hill, and sleep under frost and snow, without clothes or blankets. +However, although they seem to have little feeling for the naked and +distressed soldiers, I feel superabundantly for them, and from my soul +I pity those miseries which it is neither in my power to relieve or +prevent." + +This was not a safe man for the gentlemen of Pennsylvania to cross too +far, nor could they swerve him, with all his sense of public opinion, +one jot from what he meant to do. In the stern rebuke, and in the +deep pathos of these sentences, we catch a glimpse of the silent and +self-controlled man breaking out for a moment as he thinks of his +faithful and suffering men. Whatever happened, he would hold them +together, for in this black time we detect the fear which haunted +him, that the people at large might give way. He was determined on +independence. He felt a keen hatred against England for her whole +conduct toward America, and this hatred was sharpened by the efforts +of the English to injure him personally by forged letters and other +despicable contrivances. He was resolved that England should never +prevail, and his language in regard to her has a fierceness of tone +which is full of meaning. He was bent, also, on success, and if under +the long strain the people should weaken or waver, he was determined +to maintain the army at all hazards. + +So, while he struggled against cold and hunger and destitution, +while he contended with faction at home and lukewarmness in the +administration of the war, even then, in the midst of these trials, he +was devising a new system for the organization and permanence of his +forces. Congress meddled with the matter of prisoners and with the +promotion of officers, and he argued with and checked them, and still +pressed on in his plans. He insisted that officers must have better +provision, for they had begun to resign. "You must appeal to their +interest as well as to their patriotism," he wrote, "and you must give +them half-pay and full pay in proper measure." "You must follow the +same policy with the men," he said; "you must have done with short +enlistments. In a word, gentlemen, you must give me an army, +a lasting, enduring, continental army, for therein lies +independence."[1] It all comes out now, through the dust of details +and annoyances, through the misery and suffering of that wretched +winter, through the shrill cries of ignorance and hostility,--the +great, clear, strong policy which meant to substitute an army for +militia, and thereby secure victory and independence. It is the burden +of all his letters to the governors of States, and to his officers +everywhere. "I will hold the army together," he said, "but you on all +sides must help me build it up."[1] + +[Footnote 1: These two quotations are not literal, of course, but give +the substance of many letters.] + +Thus with much strenuous labor and many fervent appeals he held his +army together in some way, and slowly improved it. His system began to +be put in force, his reiterated lessons were coming home to Congress, +and his reforms and suggestions were in some measure adopted. Under +the sound and trained guidance of Baron Steuben a drill and discipline +were introduced, which soon showed marked results. Greene succeeded +Mifflin as quartermaster-general, and brought order out of chaos. The +Conway cabal went to pieces, and as spring opened Washington began to +see light once more. To have held on through that winter was a great +feat, but to have built up and improved the army at such a time was +much more wonderful. It shows a greatness of character and a force of +will rarer than military genius, and enables us to understand better, +perhaps, than almost any of his victories, why it was that the success +of the Revolution lay in such large measure in the hands of one man. + +After Howe's withdrawal from the Jerseys in the previous year, a +contemporary wrote that Washington was left with the remnants of an +army "to scuffle for liberty." The winter had passed, and he was +prepared to scuffle again. On May 11 Sir Henry Clinton relieved Sir +William Howe at Philadelphia, and the latter took his departure in +a blaze of mock glory and resplendent millinery, known as the +Mischianza, a fit close to a career of failure, which he was too dull +to appreciate. The new commander was more active than his predecessor, +but no cleverer, and no better fitted to cope with Washington. It was +another characteristic choice on the part of the British ministry, who +could never muster enough intellect to understand that the Americans +would fight, and that they were led by a really great soldier. The +coming of Clinton did not alter existing conditions. + +Expecting a movement by the enemy, Washington sent Lafayette forward +to watch Philadelphia. Clinton and Howe, eager for a victory before +departure, determined to cut him off, and by a rapid movement nearly +succeeded in so doing. Timely information, presence of mind, and +quickness alone enabled the young Frenchman to escape, narrowly but +completely. Meantime, a cause for delay, that curse of the British +throughout the war, supervened. A peace commission, consisting of the +Earl of Carlisle, William Eden, and Governor Johnstone, arrived. They +were excellent men, but they came too late. Their propositions three +years before would have been well enough, but as it was they were +worse than nothing. Coolly received, they held a fruitless interview +with a committee of Congress, tried to bribe and intrigue, found that +their own army had been already ordered to evacuate Philadelphia +without their knowledge, and finally gave up their task in +angry despair, and returned to England to join in the chorus of +fault-finding which was beginning to sound very loud in ministerial +ears. + +Meanwhile, Washington waited and watched, puzzled by the delay, and +hoping only to harass Sir Henry with militia on the march to New York. +But as the days slipped by, the Americans grew stronger, while the +British had been weakened by wholesale desertions. When he finally +started, he had with him probably sixteen to seventeen thousand men, +while the Americans had apparently at least thirteen thousand, nearly +all continental troops.[1] Under these circumstances, Washington +determined to bring on a battle. He was thwarted at the outset by his +officers, as was wont to be the case. Lee had returned more whimsical +than ever, and at the moment was strongly adverse to an attack, and +was full of wise saws about building a bridge of gold for the flying +enemy. The ascendancy which, as an English officer, he still retained +enabled him to get a certain following, and the councils of war +which were held compared unfavorably, as Hamilton put it, with the +deliberations of midwives. Washington was harassed of course by all +this, but he did not stay his purpose, and as soon as he knew that +Clinton actually had marched, he broke camp at Valley Forge and +started in pursuit. There were more councils of an old-womanish +character, but finally Washington took the matter into his own +hands, and ordered forth a strong detachment to attack the British +rear-guard. They set out on the 25th, and as Lee, to whom the command +belonged, did not care to go, Lafayette was put in charge. As soon as +Lafayette had departed, however, Lee changed his mind, and insisted +that all the detachments in front, amounting to five thousand men, +formed a division so large that it was unjust not to give him the +command. Washington, therefore, sent him forward next day with two +additional brigades, and then Lee by seniority took command on the +27th of the entire advance. + +[Footnote 1: The authorities are hopelessly conflicting as to the +numbers on both sides. The British returns on March 26 showed over +19,000 men. They had since that date been weakened by desertions, but +to what extent we can only conjecture. The detachments to Florida +and the West Indies ordered from England do not appear to have taken +place. The estimate of 16,000 to 17,000 seems the most reasonable. +Washington returned his rank and file as just over 10,000, which would +indicate a total force of 13,000 to 14,000, possibly more. Washington +clearly underestimated the enemy, and the best conclusion seems to be +that they were nearly matched in numbers, with a slight inferiority on +the American side.] + +In the evening of that day, Washington came up, reconnoitred the +enemy, and saw that, although their position was a strong one, another +day's unmolested march would make it still stronger. He therefore +resolved to attack the next morning, and gave Lee then and there +explicit orders to that effect. In the early dawn he dispatched +similar orders, but Lee apparently did nothing except move feebly +forward, saying to Lafayette, "You don't know the British soldiers; +we cannot stand against them." He made a weak attempt to cut off a +covering party, marched and countermarched, ordered and countermanded, +until Lafayette and Wayne, eager to fight, knew not what to do, and +sent hot messages to Washington to come to them. + +Thus hesitating and confused, Lee permitted Clinton to get his baggage +and train to the front, and to mass all his best troops in the rear +under Cornwallis, who then advanced against the American lines. Now +there were no orders at all, and the troops did not know what to do, +or where to go. They stood still, then began to fall back, and then to +retreat. A very little more and there would have been a rout. As it +was, Washington alone prevented disaster. His early reports from the +front from Dickinson's outlying party, and from Lee himself, were all +favorable. Then he heard the firing, and putting the main army in +motion, he rode rapidly forward. First he encountered a straggler, who +talked of defeat. He could not believe it, and the fellow was pushed +aside and silenced. Then came another and another, all with songs of +death. Finally, officers and regiments began to come. No one knew why +they fled, or what had happened. As the ill tidings grew thicker, +Washington spurred sharper and rode faster through the deep sand, and +under the blazing midsummer sun. At last he met Lee and the main body +all in full retreat. He rode straight at Lee, savage with anger, not +pleasant to look at, one may guess, and asked fiercely and with a deep +oath, tradition says, what it all meant. Lee was no coward, and did +not usually lack for words. He was, too, a hardened man of the world, +and, in the phrase of that day, impudent to boot. But then and there +he stammered and hesitated. The fierce question was repeated. Lee +gathered himself and tried to excuse and palliate what had happened, +but although the brief words that followed are variously reported to +us across the century, we know that Washington rebuked him in such a +way, and with such passion, that all was over between them. Lee had +committed the one unpardonable sin in the eyes of his commander. He +had failed to fight when the enemy was upon him. He had disobeyed +orders and retreated. It was the end of him. He went to the rear, +thence to a court-martial, thence to dismissal and to a solitary life +with a well-founded suspicion of treason hanging about him. He was an +intelligent, quick-witted, unstable man, much overrated because he +was an English officer among a colonial people. He was ever treated +magnanimously by Washington after the day of battle at Monmouth, but +he then disappeared from the latter's life. + +When Lee bowed before the storm and stepped aside, Washington was left +to deal with the danger and confusion around him. Thus did he tell the +story afterwards to his brother: "A retreat, however, was the fact, be +the causes what they may; and the disorder arising from it would have +proved fatal to the army, had not that bountiful Providence, which has +never failed us in the hour of distress, enabled me to form a regiment +or two (of those that were retreating) in the face of the enemy, and +under their fire; by which means a stand was made long enough (the +place through which the enemy were pressing being narrow) to form the +troops, that were advancing, upon an advantageous piece of ground in +the rear." We cannot add much to these simple and modest words, for +they tell the whole story. Having put Lee aside, Washington rallied +the broken troops, brought them into position, turned them back, and +held the enemy in check. It was not an easy feat, but it was done, and +when Lee's division again fell back in good order the main army was in +position, and the action became general. The British were repulsed, +and then Washington, taking the offensive, drove them back until he +occupied the battlefield of the morning. Night came upon him still +advancing. He halted his army, lay down under a tree, his soldiers +lying on their arms about him, and planned a fresh attack, to be made +at daylight. But when the dawn came it was seen that the British had +crept off, and were far on their road. The heat prevented a rapid +pursuit, and Clinton got into New York. Between there and Philadelphia +he had lost at least two thousand men by desertions in addition to +nearly five hundred who fell at Monmouth. + +It is worth while to pause a moment and compare this battle with the +rout of Long Island, the surprise at the Brandywine, and the fatal +unsteadiness at Germantown. Here, too, a check was received at the +outset, owing to blundering which no one could have foreseen. The +troops, confused and without orders, began to retreat, but without +panic or disorder. The moment Washington appeared they rallied, +returned to the field, showed perfect steadiness, and the victory +was won. Monmouth has never been one of the famous battles of the +Revolution, and yet there is no other which can compare with it as an +illustration of Washington's ability as a soldier. It was not so much +the way in which it was fought, although that was fine enough, that +its importance lies as in the evidence which it gives of the way +in which Washington, after a series of defeats, during a winter +of terrible suffering and privation, had yet developed his ragged +volunteers into a well-disciplined and effective army. The battle was +a victory, but the existence and the quality of the army that won it +were a far greater triumph. + +The dreary winter at Valley Forge had indeed borne fruit. With a +slight numerical superiority Washington had fought the British in the +open field, and fairly defeated them. "Clinton gained no advantage," +said the great Frederic, "except to reach New York with the wreck of +his army; America is probably lost for England." Another year had +passed, and England had lost an army, and still held what she had +before, the city of New York. Washington was in the field with a +better army than ever, and an army flushed with a victory which had +been achieved after difficulties and trials such as no one now can +rightly picture or describe. The American Revolution was advancing, +held firm by the master-hand of its leader. Into it, during these days +of struggle and of battle, a new element had come, and the next step +is to see how Washington dealt with the fresh conditions upon which +the great conflict had entered. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE ALLIES + + +On May 4, 1778, Congress ratified the treaties of commerce and +alliance with France. On the 6th, Washington, waiting at Valley Forge +for the British to start from Philadelphia, caused his army, drawn out +on parade, to celebrate the great event with cheers and with salvos of +artillery and musketry. The alliance deserved cheers and celebration, +for it marked a long step onward in the Revolution. It showed that +America had demonstrated to Europe that she could win independence, +and it had been proved to the traditional enemy of England that +the time had come when it would be profitable to help the revolted +colonies. But the alliance brought troubles as well as blessings in +its train. It induced a relaxation in popular energy, and carried +with it new and difficult problems for the commander-in-chief. The +successful management of allies, and of allied forces, had been one +of the severest tests of the statesmanship of William III., and had +constituted one of the principal glories of Marlborough. A similar +problem now confronted the American general. + +Washington was free from the diplomatic and political portion of the +business, but the military and popular part fell wholly into his +hands, and demanded the exercise of talents entirely different from +those of either a general or an administrator. It has been not +infrequently written more or less plainly, and it is constantly said, +that Washington was great in character, but that in brains he was +not far above the common-place. It is even hinted sometimes that the +father of his country was a dull man, a notion which we shall have +occasion to examine more fully further on. At this point let the +criticism be remembered merely in connection with the fact that +to cooeperate with allies in military matters demands tact, quick +perception, firmness, and patience. In a word, it is a task which +calls for the finest and most highly trained intellectual powers, and +of which the difficulty is enhanced a thousandfold when the allies are +on the one side, an old, aristocratic, punctilious people, and on the +other, colonists utterly devoid of tradition, etiquette, or fixed +habits, and very much accustomed to go their own way and speak their +own minds with careless freedom. With this problem Washington was +obliged suddenly to deal, both in ill success and good success, as +well as in many attempts which came to nothing. Let us see how he +solved it at the very outset, when everything went most perversely +wrong. + +On July 14 he heard that D'Estaing's fleet was off the coast, and at +once, without a trace of elation or excitement, he began to consider +the possibility of intercepting the British fleet expected to arrive +shortly from Cork. As soon as D'Estaing was within reach he sent +two of his aides on board the flagship, and at once opened a +correspondence with his ally. These letters of welcome, and those of +suggestion which followed, are models, in their way, of what such +letters ought always to be. They were perfectly adapted to satisfy the +etiquette and the love of good manners of the French, and yet there +was not a trace of anything like servility, or of an effusive +gratitude which outran the favors granted. They combined stately +courtesy with simple dignity, and are phrased with a sober grace which +shows the thoroughly strong man, as capable to turn a sentence, if +need be, as to rally retreating soldiers in the face of the enemy. + +In this first meeting of the allies nothing happened fortunately. +D'Estaing had had a long passage, and was too late to cut off Lord +Howe at the Delaware. Then he turned to New York, and was too late +there, and found further that he could not get his ships over the bar. +Hence more delays, so that he was late again in getting to Newport, +where he was to unite with Sullivan in driving the British from Rhode +Island, as Washington had planned, in case of failure at New York, +while the French were still hovering on the coast. When D'Estaing +finally reached Newport, there was still another delay of ten days, +and then, just as he and Sullivan were preparing to attack, Lord Howe, +with his squadron reinforced, appeared off the harbor. Promising to +return, D'Estaing sailed out to give the enemy battle, and after +much manoeuvring both fleets were driven off by a severe storm, and +D'Estaing came back only to tell Sullivan that he must go to Boston at +once to refit. Then came the protest addressed to the Count and signed +by all the American officers; then the departure of D'Estaing, and an +indiscreet proclamation to the troops by Sullivan, reflecting on the +conduct of the allies. + +When D'Estaing had actually gone, and the Americans were obliged to +retreat, there was much grumbling in all directions, and it looked as +if the first result of the alliance was to be a very pretty quarrel. +It was a bad and awkward business. Congress had the good sense to +suppress the protest of the officers, and Washington, disappointed, +but perhaps not wholly surprised, set himself to work to put matters +right. It was no easy task to soothe the French, on the one hand, who +were naturally aggrieved at the utterances of the American officers +and at the popular feeling, and on the other to calm his own people, +who were, not without reason, both disappointed and provoked. To +Sullivan, fuming with wrath, he wrote: "Should the expedition fail +through the abandonment of the French fleet, the officers concerned +will be apt to complain loudly. But prudence dictates that we should +put the best face upon the matter, and to the world attribute the +removal to Boston to necessity. The reasons are too obvious to need +explaining." And again, a few days later: "First impressions, you +know, are generally longest remembered, and will serve to fix in a +great degree our national character among the French. In our conduct +towards them we should remember that they are a people old in war, +very strict in military etiquette, and apt to take fire when others +scarcely seem warmed. Permit me to recommend, in the most particular +manner, the cultivation of harmony and good agreement, and your +endeavor to destroy that ill-humor which may have got into officers." +To Lafayette he wrote: "Everybody, sir, who reasons, will acknowledge +the advantages which we have derived from the French fleet, and the +zeal of the commander of it; but in a free and republican government +you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude. Every man will speak +as he thinks, or, more properly, without thinking, and consequently +will judge of effects without attending to the causes. The censures +which have been leveled at the French fleet would more than probably +have fallen in a much higher degree upon a fleet of our own, if we +had had one in the same situation. It is the nature of man to be +displeased with everything that disappoints a favorite hope or +flattering project; and it is the folly of too many of them to condemn +without investigating circumstances." Finally he wrote to D'Estaing, +deploring the difference which had arisen, mentioning his own efforts +and wishes to restore harmony, and said: "It is in the trying +circumstances to which your Excellency has been exposed that the +virtues of a great mind are displayed in their brightest lustre, and +that a general's character is better known than in the moment of +victory. It was yours by every title that can give it; and the adverse +elements that robbed you of your prize can never deprive you of +the glory due you. Though your success has not been equal to your +expectations, yet you have the satisfaction of reflecting that you +have rendered essential services to the common cause." This is not the +letter of a dull man. Indeed, there is a nicety about it that partakes +of cleverness, a much commoner thing than greatness, but something +which all great men by no means possess. Thus by tact and +comprehension of human nature, by judicious suppression and equally +judicious letters, Washington, through the prudent exercise of all his +commanding influence, quieted his own people and soothed his allies. +In this way a serious disaster was averted, and an abortive expedition +was all that was left to be regretted, instead of an ugly quarrel, +which might readily have neutralized the vast advantages flowing from +the French alliance. Having refitted, D'Estaing bore away for the West +Indies, and so closed the first chapter in the history of the alliance +with France. Nothing more was heard of the allies until the spring was +well advanced, when M. Gerard, the minister, wrote, intimating that +D'Estaing was about to return, and asking what we would do. Washington +replied at length, professing his willingness to cooeperate in any way, +and offering, if the French would send ships, to abandon everything, +run all risks, and make an attack on New York. Nothing further came +of it, and Washington heard that the fleet had gone to the Southern +States, which he learned without regret, as he was apprehensive as to +the condition of affairs in that region. Again, in the autumn, it +was reported that the fleet was once more upon the northern coast. +Washington at once sent officers to be on the lookout at the most +likely points, and he wrote elaborately to D'Estaing, setting forth +with wonderful perspicuity the incidents of the past, the condition of +the present, and the probabilities of the future. He was willing to do +anything, or plan anything, provided his allies would join with him. +The jealousy so habitual in humanity, which is afraid that some one +else may get the glory of a common success, was unknown to Washington, +and if he could but drive the British from America, and establish +American independence, he was perfectly willing that the glory should +take care of itself. But all his wisdom in dealing with the allies +was, for the moment, vain. While he was planning for a great stroke, +and calling out the militia of New England, D'Estaing was making ready +to relieve Georgia, and a few days after Washington wrote his second +letter, the French and Americans assaulted the British works at +Savannah, and were repulsed with heavy losses. Then D'Estaing sailed +away again, and the second effort of France to aid England's revolted +colonies came to an end. Their presence had had a good moral effect, +and the dread of D'Estaing's return had caused Clinton to withdraw +from Newport and concentrate in New York. This was all that was +actually accomplished, and there was nothing for it but to await still +another trial and a more convenient season. + +With all his courtesy and consideration, with all his readiness to +fall in with the wishes and schemes of the French, it must not be +supposed that Washington ever went an inch too far in this direction. +He valued the French alliance, and proposed to use it to great +purpose, but he was not in the least dazzled or blinded by it. Even +in the earliest glow of excitement and hope produced by D'Estaing's +arrival, Washington took occasion to draw once more the distinction +between a valuable alliance and volunteer adventurers, and to +remonstrate again with Congress about their reckless profusion in +dealing with foreign officers. To Gouverneur Morris he wrote on July +24, 1778: "The lavish manner in which rank has hitherto been bestowed +on these gentlemen will certainly be productive of one or the other of +these two evils: either to make it despicable in the eyes of Europe, +or become the means of pouring them in upon us like a torrent and +adding to our present burden. But it is neither the expense nor the +trouble of them that I most dread. There is an evil more extensive in +its nature, and fatal in its consequences, to be apprehended, and +that is the driving of all our own officers out of the service, and +throwing not only our army, but our military councils, entirely into +the hands of foreigners.... Baron Steuben, I now find, is also wanting +to quit his inspectorship for a command in the line. This will be +productive of much discontent to the brigadiers. In a word, although I +think the baron an excellent officer, I do most devoutly wish that we +had not a single foreigner among us except the Marquis de Lafayette, +who acts upon very different principles from those which govern the +rest." A few days later he said, on the same theme, to the president +of Congress: "I trust you think me so much a citizen of the world as +to believe I am not easily warped or led away by attachments merely +local and American; yet I confess I am not entirely without them, nor +does it appear to me that they are unwarrantable, if confined within +proper limits. Fewer promotions in the foreign line would have been +productive of more harmony, and made our warfare more agreeable to all +parties." Again, he said of Steuben: "I regret that there should be a +necessity that his services should be lost to the army; at the same +time I think it my duty explicitly to observe to Congress that his +desire of having an actual and permanent command in the line cannot be +complied with without wounding the feelings of a number of officers, +whose rank and merits give them every claim to attention; and that the +doing of it would be productive of much dissatisfaction and extensive +ill consequences." + +Washington's resistance to the colonial deference for foreigners has +already been pointed out, but this second burst of opposition, coming +at this especial time, deserves renewed attention. The splendid fleet +and well-equipped troops of our ally were actually at our gates, and +everybody was in a paroxysm of perfectly natural gratitude. To the +colonial mind, steeped in colonial habits of thought, the foreigner at +this particular juncture appeared more than ever to be a splendid and +superior being. But he did not in the least confuse or sway the cool +judgment that guided the destinies of the Revolution. Let us consider +well the pregnant sentences just quoted, and the letters from which +they are taken. They deserve it, for they throw a strong light on a +side of Washington's mind and character too little appreciated. One +hears it said not infrequently, it has been argued even in print with +some solemnity, that Washington was, no doubt, a great man and rightly +a national hero, but that he was not an American. It will be necessary +to recur to this charge again and consider it at some length. It is +sufficient at this point to see how it tallies with his conduct in +a single matter, which was a very perfect test of the national and +American quality of the man. We can get at the truth by contrasting +him with his own contemporaries, the only fair comparison, for he was +a man and an American of his own time and not of the present day, +which is a point his critics overlook. + +Where he differed from the men of his own time was in the fact that he +rose to a breadth and height of Americanism and of national feeling +which no other man of that day touched at all. Nothing is more intense +than the conservatism of mental habits, and although it requires now +an effort to realize it, it should not be forgotten that in every +habit of thought the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies were wholly +colonial. If this is properly appreciated we can understand the mental +breadth and vigor which enabled Washington to shake off at once all +past habits and become an independent leader of an independent +people. He felt to the very core of his being the need of national +self-respect and national dignity. To him, as the chief of the armies +and the head of the Revolution, all men, no matter what tongue they +spake or what country they came from, were to be dealt with on a +footing of simple equality, and treated according to their merits. +There was to him no glamour in the fact that this man was a Frenchman +and that an Englishman. His own personal pride extended to his people, +and he bowed to no national superiority anywhere. Hamilton was +national throughout, but he was born outside the thirteen colonies, +and knew his fellow-citizens only as Americans. Franklin was national +by the force of his own commanding genius. John Adams grew to the same +conception, so far as our relations to other nations were concerned. +But beyond these three we may look far and closely before we find +another among all the really great men of the time who freed himself +wholly from the superstition of the colonist about the nations of +Europe. + +When Washington drew his sword beneath the Cambridge elm he stood +forth as the first American, the best type of man that the New World +could produce, with no provincial taint upon him, and no shadow of the +colonial past clouding his path. It was this great quality that gave +the struggle which he led a character it would never have attained +without a leader so constituted. Had he been merely a colonial +Englishman, had he not risen at once to the conception of an American +nation, the world would have looked at us with very different eyes. +It was the personal dignity of the man, quite as much as his fighting +capacity, which impressed Europe. Kings and ministers, looking on +dispassionately, soon realized that here was no ordinary agitator +or revolutionist, but a great man on a great stage with great +conceptions. England, indeed, talked about a militia colonel, but this +chatter disappeared in the smoke of Trenton, and even England came to +look upon him as the all-powerful spirit of the Revolution. Dull men +and colonial squires do not grasp a great idea and carry it into +action on the world's stage in a few months. To stand forward at the +head of raw armies and of a colonial people as a national leader, +calm, dignified, and far-seeing, requires not only character, but +intellect of the highest and strongest kind. Now that we have come +as a people, after more than a century's struggle, to the national +feeling which Washington compassed in a moment, it is well to consider +that single achievement and to meditate on its meaning, whether in +estimating him, or in gauging what he was to the American people when +they came into existence. + +Let us take another instance of the same quality, shown also in the +winter of 1778. Congress had from the beginning a longing to conquer +Canada, which was a wholly natural and entirely laudable desire, for +conquest is always more interesting than defense. Washington, on the +other hand, after the first complete failure, which was so nearly +a success in the then undefended and unsuspicious country, gave up +pretty thoroughly all ideas of attacking Canada again, and opposed +the various plans of Congress in that direction. When he had a +life-and-death struggle to get together and subsist enough men +to protect their own firesides, he had ample reason to know that +invasions of Canada were hopeless. Indeed, not much active opposition +from the commander-in-chief was needed to dispose of the Canadian +schemes, for facts settled them as fast as they arose. When the +cabal got up its Canadian expedition, it consisted of Lafayette, and +penetrated no farther than Albany. So Washington merely kept his eye +watchfully on Canada, and argued against expeditions thither, until +this winter of 1778, when something quite new in that direction came +up. + +Lafayette's imagination had been fired by the notion of conquering +Canada. His idea was to get succors from France for this especial +purpose, and with them and American aid to achieve the conquest. +Congress was impressed and pleased by the scheme, and sent a report +upon it to Franklin, to communicate to the French court, but +Washington, when he heard of the plan, took a very different view. +He sent at once a long dispatch to Congress, urging every possible +objection to the proposed campaign, on the ground of its utter +impracticability, and with this official letter, which was necessarily +confined to the military side of the question, went another addressed +to President Laurens personally, which contained the deeper reasons of +his opposition. He said that there was an objection not touched upon +in his public letter, which was absolutely insurmountable. This was +the introduction of French troops into Canada to take possession of +the capital, in the midst of a people of their own race and religion, +and but recently severed from them. + +He pointed out the enormous advantages which would accrue to France +from the possession of Canada, such as independent posts, control of +the Indians, and the Newfoundland trade. "France, ... possessed of New +Orleans on our right, Canada on our left, and seconded by the +numerous tribes of Indians in our rear, ... would, it is much to be +apprehended, have it in her power to give law to these States." He +went on to show that France might easily find an excuse for such +conduct, in seeking a surety for her advances of money, and that she +had but little to fear from the contingency of our being driven to +reunite with England. He continued: "Men are very apt to run into +extremes. Hatred to England may carry some into an excess of +confidence in France, especially when motives of gratitude are thrown +into the scale. Men of this description would be unwilling to suppose +France capable of acting so ungenerous a part. I am heartily disposed +to entertain the most favorable sentiments of our new ally, and to +cherish them in others to a reasonable degree. But it is a maxim, +founded on the universal experience of mankind, that no nation is +to be trusted farther than it is bound by its own interest; and no +prudent statesman or politician will venture to depart from it. In our +circumstances we ought to be particularly cautious; for we have not +yet attained sufficient vigor and maturity to recover from the shock +of any false steps into which we may unwarily fall." + +We shall have occasion to recall these utterances at a later day, but +at this time they serve to show yet again how broadly and clearly +Washington judged nations and policies. Uppermost in his mind was the +destiny of his own nation, just coming into being, and from that firm +point he watched and reasoned. His words had no effect on Congress, +but as it turned out, the plan failed through adverse influences in +the quarter where Washington least expected them. He believed that +this Canadian plan had been put into Lafayette's mind by the cabinet +of Louis XVI., and he could not imagine that a policy of such obvious +wisdom could be overlooked by French statesmen. In this he was +completely mistaken, for France failed to see what seemed so simple to +the American general, that the opportunity had come to revive her old +American policy and reestablish her colonies under the most favorable +conditions. The ministers of Louis XVI., moreover, did not wish the +colonies to conquer Canada, and the plan of Lafayette and the Congress +received no aid in Paris and came to nothing. But the fruitless +incident exhibits in the strongest light the attitude of Washington as +a purely American statesman, and the comprehensiveness of his mind in +dealing with large affairs. + +The French alliance and the coming of the French fleet were of +incalculable advantage to the colonies, but they had one evil effect, +as has already been suggested. To a people weary with unequal +conflict, it was a debilitating influence, and America needed at that +moment more than ever energy and vigor, both in the council and +the field. Yet the general outlook was distinctly better and more +encouraging. Soon after Washington had defeated Clinton at Monmouth, +and had taken a position whence he could watch and check him, he wrote +to his friend General Nelson in Virginia:-- + +"It is not a little pleasing, nor less wonderful to contemplate, that, +after two years' manoeuvring and undergoing the strangest vicissitudes +that perhaps ever attended any one contest since the creation, both +armies are brought back to the very point they set out from, and that +the offending party at the beginning is now reduced to the spade and +pickaxe for defense. The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in +all this that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and +more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his +obligations. But it will be time enough for me to turn preacher when +my present appointment ceases." + +He had reason to congratulate himself on the result of his two years' +campaigning, but as the summer wore away and winter came on he found +causes for fresh and deep alarm, despite the good outlook in the +field. The demoralizing effects of civil war were beginning to show +themselves in various directions. The character of Congress, in point +of ability, had declined alarmingly, for the ablest men of the first +Congress, with few exceptions, had departed. Some had gone to the +army, some to the diplomatic service, and many had remained at home, +preferring the honors and offices of the States to those of the +Confederation. Their successors, patriotic and well-meaning though +they were, lacked the energy and force of those who had started the +Revolution, and, as a consequence, Congress had become feeble and +ineffective, easily swayed by influential schemers, and unable to cope +with the difficulties which surrounded them. + +Outside the government the popular tone had deteriorated sadly. The +lavish issues of irredeemable paper by the Confederation and the +States had brought their finances to the verge of absolute ruin. The +continental currency had fallen to something like forty to one in +gold, and the decline was hastened by the forged notes put out by the +enemy. The fluctuations of this paper soon bred a spirit of gambling, +and hence came a class of men, both inside and outside of politics, +who sought, more or less corruptly, to make fortunes by army +contracts, and by forestalling the markets. These developments filled +Washington with anxiety, for in the financial troubles he saw ruin +to the army. The unpaid troops bore the injustice done them with +wonderful patience, but it was something that could not last, and +Washington knew the danger. In vain did he remonstrate. It seemed to +be impossible to get anything done, and at last, in the following +spring, the outbreak began. Two New Jersey regiments refused to march +until the assembly made provision for their pay. Washington took high +ground with them, but they stood respectfully firm, and finally had +their way. Not long after came another outbreak in the Connecticut +line, with similar results. These object lessons had some result, and +by foreign loans and the ability of Robert Morris the country was +enabled to stumble along; but it was a frightful and wearing anxiety +to the commander-in-chief. + +Washington saw at once that the root of the evil lay in the feebleness +of Congress, and although he could not deal with the finances, he was +able to strive for an improvement in the governing body. Not content +with letters, he left the army and went to Philadelphia, in the winter +of 1779, and there appealed to Congress in person, setting forth the +perils which beset them, and urging action. He wrote also to his +friends everywhere, pointing out the deficiencies of Congress, and +begging them to send better and stronger men. To Benjamin Harrison he +wrote: "It appears to me as clear as ever the sun did in its meridian +brightness, that America never stood in more eminent need of the wise, +patriotic, and spirited exertions of her sons than at this period; ... +the States separately are too much engaged in their local concerns, +and have too many of their ablest men withdrawn from the general +council, for the good of the common weal." He took the same high tone +in all his letters, and there can be seen through it all the desperate +endeavor to make the States and the people understand the dangers +which he realized, but which they either could not or would not +appreciate. + +On the other hand, while his anxiety was sharpened to the highest +point by the character of Congress, his sternest wrath was kindled by +the gambling and money-making which had become rampant. To Reed he +wrote in December, 1778: "It gives me sincere pleasure to find that +there is likely to be a coalition of the Whigs in your State, a few +only excepted, and that the assembly is so well disposed to second +your endeavors in bringing those murderers of our cause, the +monopolizers, forestallers, and engrossers, to condign punishment. It +is much to be lamented that each State, long ere this, has not hunted +them down as pests to society and the greatest enemies we have to +the happiness of America. I would to God that some one of the most +atrocious in each State was hung in gibbets upon a gallows five times +as high as the one prepared by Haman. No punishment, in my opinion, is +too great for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's +ruin." He would have hanged them too had he had the power, for he was +always as good as his word. + +It is refreshing to read these righteously angry words, still ringing +as sharply as when they were written. They clear away all the +myths--the priggish, the cold, the statuesque, the dull myths--as the +strong gusts of the northwest wind in autumn sweep off the heavy mists +of lingering August. They are the hot words of a warm-blooded man, a +good hater, who loathed meanness and treachery, and who would have +hanged those who battened upon the country's distress. When he went +to Philadelphia, a few weeks later, and saw the state of things with +nearer view, he felt the wretchedness and outrage of such doings more +than ever. He wrote to Harrison: "If I were to be called upon to draw +a picture of the times and of men, from what I have seen, heard, and +in part know, I should in one word say, that idleness, dissipation, +and extravagance seem to have laid fast hold of most of them; that +speculation, peculation, and an insatiable thirst for riches seem to +have got the better of every other consideration, and almost of every +order of men; that party disputes and personal quarrels are the great +business of the day; whilst the momentous concerns of an empire, a +great and accumulating debt, ruined finances, depreciated money, and +want of credit, which, in its consequences, is the want of everything, +are but secondary considerations, and postponed from day to day, from +week to week, as if our affairs wore the most promising aspect." + +Other men talked about empire, but he alone grasped the great +conception, and felt it in his soul. To see not only immediate success +imperiled, but the future paltered with by small, mean, and dishonest +men, cut him to the quick. He set himself doggedly to fight it, as he +always fought every enemy, using both speech and pen in all quarters. +Much, no doubt, he ultimately effected, but he was contending with +the usual results of civil war, which are demoralizing always, and +especially so among a young people in a new country. At first, +therefore, all seemed vain. The selfishness, "peculation, and +speculation" seemed to get worse, and the tone of Congress and the +people lower, as he struggled against them. In March, 1779, he wrote +to James Warren of Massachusetts: "Nothing, I am convinced, but +the depreciation of our currency, aided by stock-jobbing and party +dissensions, has fed the hopes of the enemy, and kept the British +arms in America to this day. They do not scruple to declare this +themselves, and add that we shall be our own conquerors. Can not our +common country, America, possess virtue enough to disappoint them? Is +the paltry consideration of a little pelf to individuals to be placed +in competition with the essential rights and liberties of the present +generation, and of millions yet unborn? Shall a few designing men, for +their own aggrandizement, and to gratify their own avarice, overset +the goodly fabric we have been rearing, at the expense of so much +time, blood, and treasure? And shall we at last become the victims +of our own lust of gain? Forbid it, Heaven! Forbid it, all and every +State in the Union, by enacting and enforcing efficacious laws for +checking the growth of these monstrous evils, and restoring matters, +in some degree, to the state they were in at the commencement of the +war." + +"Our cause is noble. It is the cause of mankind, and the danger to it +is to be apprehended from ourselves. Shall we slumber and sleep, then, +while we should be punishing those miscreants who have brought these +troubles upon us, and who are aiming to continue us in them; while we +should be striving to fill our battalions, and devising ways and means +to raise the value of the currency, on the credit of which everything +depends?" Again we see the prevailing idea of the future, which +haunted him continually. Evidently, he had some imagination, and +also a power of terse and eloquent expression which we have heard of +before, and shall note again. + +Still the appeals seemed to sound in deaf ears. He wrote to George +Mason: "I have seen, without despondency, even for a moment, the hours +which America has styled her gloomy ones; but I have beheld no +day since the commencement of hostilities that I have thought her +liberties in such imminent danger as at present.... Indeed, we are +verging so fast to destruction that I am filled with sensations to +which I have been a stranger till within these three months." To +Gouverneur Morris he said: "If the enemy have it in their power to +press us hard this campaign, I know not what may be the consequence." +He had faced the enemy, the bleak winters, raw soldiers, and all the +difficulties of impecunious government, with a cheerful courage that +never failed. But the spectacle of widespread popular demoralization, +of selfish scrambles for plunder, and of feeble administration at +the centre of government weighed upon him heavily. It was not the +general's business to build up Congress and grapple with finance, but +Washington addressed himself to the new task with his usual persistent +courage. It was slow and painful work. He seemed to make no progress, +and then it was that his spirits sank at the prospect of ruin and +defeat, not coming on the field of battle, but from our own vices and +our own lack of energy and wisdom. Yet his work told in the end, as it +always did. His vast and steadily growing influence made itself felt +even through the dense troubles of the uneasy times. Congress turned +with energy to Europe for fresh loans. Lafayette worked away to get +an army sent over. The two Morrises, stimulated by Washington, flung +themselves into the financial difficulties, and feeble but distinct +efforts toward a more concentrated and better organized administration +of public affairs were made both in the States and the confederation. + +But, although Washington's spirits fell, and his anxieties became +wellnigh intolerable in this period of reaction which followed the +French alliance, he made no public show of it, but carried on his own +work with the army and in the field as usual, contending with all the +difficulties, new and old, as calmly and efficiently as ever. After +Clinton slipped away from Monmouth and sought refuge in New York, +Washington took post at convenient points and watched the movements +of the enemy. In this way the summer passed. As always, Washington's +first object was to guard the Hudson, and while he held this vital +point firmly, he waited, ready to strike elsewhere if necessary. It +looked for a time as if the British intended to descend on Boston, +seize the town, and destroy the French fleet, which had gone there +to refit. Such was the opinion of Gates, then commanding in that +department, and as Washington inclined to the same belief, the fear of +this event gave him many anxious moments. He even moved his troops +so as to be in readiness to march eastward at short notice; but he +gradually became convinced that the enemy had no such plan. Much +of his thought, now and always, was given to efforts to divine the +intentions of the British generals. They had so few settled ideas, +and were so tardy and lingering when they had plans, that it is small +wonder that their opponents were sorely puzzled in trying to find out +what their purposes were, when they really had none. The fact was that +Washington saw their military opportunities with the eye of a great +soldier, and so much better than they, that he suffered a good deal of +needless anxiety in devising methods to meet attacks which they had +not the wit to undertake. He had a profound contempt for their policy +of holding towns, and believing that they must see the utter futility +of it, after several years of trial, he constantly expected from them +a well-planned and extensive campaign, which in reality they were +incapable of devising. + +The main army, therefore, remained quiet, and when the autumn had +passed went into winter-quarters in well-posted detachments about New +York. In December Clinton made an ineffectual raid, and then all was +peaceful again, and Washington was able to go to Philadelphia and +struggle with Congress, leaving his army more comfortable and secure +than they had been in any previous winter. + +In January he informed Congress as to the next campaign. He showed +them the impossibility of undertaking anything on a large scale, and +announced his intention of remaining on the defensive. It was a trying +policy to a man of his temper, but he could do no better, and he knew, +now as always, what others could not yet see, that by simply holding +on and keeping his army in the field he was slowly but surely winning +independence. He tried to get Congress to do something with the navy, +and he planned an expedition, under the command of Sullivan, to +overrun the Indian country and check the barbarous raids of the Tories +and savages on the frontier; and with this he was fain to be content. +In fact, he perceived very clearly the direction in which the war was +tending. He kept up his struggle with Congress for a permanent army, +and with the old persistency pleaded that something should be done for +the officers, and at the same time he tried to keep the States in good +humor when they were grumbling about the amount of protection afforded +them. + +But all this wear and tear of heart and brain and temper, while given +chiefly to hold the army together, was not endured with any +notion that he and Clinton were eventually to fight it out in the +neighborhood of New York. Washington felt that that part of the +conflict was over. He now hoped and believed that the moment would +come, when, by uniting his army with the French, he should be able to +strike the decisive blow. Until that time came, however, he knew that +he could do nothing on a great scale, and he felt that meanwhile the +British, abandoning practically the eastern and middle States, would +make one last desperate struggle for victory, and would make it in the +south. Long before any one else, he appreciated this fact, and saw a +peril looming large in that region, where everybody was considering +the British invasion as little more than an exaggerated raid. He +foresaw, too, that we should suffer more there than we had in the +extreme north, because the south was full of Tories and less well +organized. + +All this, however, did not change his own plans one jot. He believed +that the south must work out its own salvation, as New York and New +England had done with Burgoyne, and he felt sure that in the end it +would be successful. But he would not go south, nor take his army +there. The instinct of a great commander for the vital point in a war +or a battle, is as keen as that of the tiger is said to be for the +jugular vein of its victim. The British might overrun the north or +invade the south, but he would stay where he was, with his grip upon +New York and the Hudson River. The tide of invasion might ebb and flow +in this region or that, but the British were doomed if they could not +divide the eastern colonies from the others. When the appointed hour +came, he was ready to abandon everything and strike the final and +fatal blow; but until then he waited and stood fast with his army, +holding the great river in his grasp. He felt much more anxiety about +the south than he had felt about the north, and expected Congress to +consult him as to a commander, having made up his mind that Greene was +the man to send. But Congress still believed in Gates, who had been +making trouble for Washington all winter; and so Gates was sent, +and Congress in due time got their lesson, and found once more that +Washington understood men better than they did. + +In the north the winter was comparatively uneventful. The spring +passed, and in June Clinton came out and took possession of Stony +Point and Verplanck's Point, and began to fortify them. It looked a +little as if Clinton might intend to get control of the Hudson by +slow approaches, fortifying, and then advancing until he reached West +Point. With this in mind, Washington at once determined to check the +British by striking sharply at one of their new posts. Having made +up his mind, he sent for Wayne and asked him if he would storm Stony +Point. Tradition says that Wayne replied, "I will storm hell, if you +will plan it." A true tradition, probably, in keeping with Wayne's +character, and pleasant to us to-day as showing with a vivid gleam of +rough human speech the utter confidence of the army in their leader, +that confidence which only a great soldier can inspire. So Washington +planned, and Wayne stormed, and Stony Point fell. It was a gallant and +brilliant feat of arms, one of the most brilliant of the war. Over +five hundred prisoners were taken, the guns were carried off, and the +works destroyed, leaving the British to begin afresh with a good deal +of increased caution and respect. Not long after, Harry Lee stormed +Paulus Hook with equal success, and the British were checked and +arrested, if they intended any extensive movement. On the frontier, +Sullivan, after some delays, did his work effectively, ravaging the +Indian towns and reducing them to quiet, thus taking away another +annoyance and danger. + +In these various ways Clinton's circle of activity was steadily +narrowed, but it may be doubted whether he had any coherent plan. +The principal occupation of the British was to send out marauding +expeditions and cut off outlying parties. Tryon burned and pillaged +in Connecticut, Matthews in Virginia, and others on a smaller scale +elsewhere in New Jersey and New York. The blundering stupidity of this +system of warfare was only equaled by its utter brutality. Houses were +burned, peaceful villages went up in smoke, women and children were +outraged, and soldiers were bayoneted after they had surrendered. +These details of the Revolution are wellnigh forgotten now, but when +the ear is wearied with talk about English generosity and love of fair +play, it is well to turn back and study the exploits of Tryon, and it +is not amiss in the same connection to recall that English budgets +contained a special appropriation for scalping-knives, a delicate +attention to the Tories and Indians who were burning and butchering on +the frontier. + +Such methods of warfare Washington despised intellectually, and hated +morally. He saw that every raid only hardened the people against +England, and made her cause more hopeless. The misery caused by these +raids angered him, but he would not retaliate in kind, and Wayne +bayoneted no English soldiers after they laid down their arms at Stony +Point. It was enough for Washington to hold fast to the great objects +he had in view, to check Clinton and circumscribe his movements. +Steadfastly he did this through the summer and winter of 1779, which +proved one of the worst that he had yet endured. Supplies did not +come, the army dwindled, and the miseries of Valley Forge were +renewed. Again was repeated the old and pitiful story of appeals to +Congress and the States, and again the undaunted spirit and strenuous +exertions of Washington saved the army and the Revolution from the +internal ruin which was his worst enemy. When the new year began, he +saw that he was again condemned to a defensive campaign, but this made +little difference now, for what he had foreseen in the spring of 1779 +became certainty in the autumn. The active war was transferred to the +south, where the chapter of disasters was beginning, and Clinton had +practically given up everything except New York. The war had taken +on the new phase expected by Washington. Weak as he was, he began to +detach troops, and prepared to deal with the last desperate effort of +England to conquer her revolted colonies from the south. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ARNOLD'S TREASON, AND THE WAR IN THE SOUTH + + +The spring of 1780 was the beginning of a period of inactivity and +disappointment, of diligent effort and frustrated plans. During the +months which ensued before the march to the south, Washington passed +through a stress of harassing anxiety, which was far worse than +anything he had to undergo at any other time. Plans were formed, only +to fail. Opportunities arose, only to pass by unfulfilled. The network +of hostile conditions bound him hand and foot, and it seemed at times +as if he could never break the bonds that held him, or prevent or hold +back the moral, social, and political dissolution going on about him. +With the aid of France, he meant to strike one decisive blow, and end +the struggle. Every moment was of importance, and yet the days and +weeks and months slipped by, and he could get nothing done. He could +neither gain control of the sea, nor gather sufficient forces of his +own, although delay now meant ruin. He saw the British overrun the +south, and he could not leave the Hudson. He was obliged to sacrifice +the southern States, and yet he could get neither ships nor men to +attack New York. The army was starving and mutinous, and he sought +relief in vain. The finances were ruined, Congress was helpless, the +States seemed stupefied. Treason of the most desperate kind suddenly +reared its head, and threatened the very citadel of the Revolution. +These were the days of the war least familiar to posterity. They +are unmarked in the main by action or fighting, and on this dreary +monotony nothing stands out except the black stain of Arnold's +treason. Yet it was the time of all others when Washington had most to +bear. It was the time of all others when his dogged persistence and +unwavering courage alone seemed to sustain the flickering fortunes of +the war. + +In April Washington was pondering ruefully on the condition of affairs +at the south. He saw that the only hope of saving Charleston was in +the defense of the bar; and when that became indefensible, he saw that +the town ought to be abandoned to the enemy, and the army withdrawn to +the country. His military genius showed itself again and again in +his perfectly accurate judgment on distant campaigns. He seemed to +apprehend all the conditions at a glance, and although his wisdom +made him refuse to issue orders when he was not on the ground, those +generals who followed his suggestions, even when a thousand miles +away, were successful, and those who disregarded them were not. +Lincoln, commanding at Charleston, was a brave and loyal man, but he +had neither the foresight nor the courage to withdraw to the country, +and then, hovering on the lines of the enemy, to confine them to the +town. He yielded to the entreaties of the citizens and remained, only +to surrender. Washington had retreated from New York, and after five +years of fighting the British still held it, and had gone no further. +He had refused to risk an assault to redeem Philadelphia, at the +expense of much grumbling and cursing, and had then beaten the enemy +when they hastily retreated thence in the following spring. His +cardinal doctrine was that the Revolution depended upon the existence +of the army, and not on the possession of any particular spot of +ground, and his masterly adherence to this theory brought victory, +slowly but surely. Lincoln's very natural inability to grasp it, and +to withstand popular pressure, cost us for a time the southern States +and a great deal of bloody fighting. + +In the midst of this anxiety about the south, and when he foresaw the +coming disasters, Washington was cheered and encouraged by the arrival +of Lafayette, whom he loved, and who brought good tidings of his +zealous work for the United States in Paris. An army and a fleet were +on their way to America, with a promise of more to follow. This was +great news indeed. It is interesting to note how Washington took it, +for we see here with unusual clearness the readiness of grasp and +quickness of thought which have been noted before, but which are +not commonly attributed to him. It has been the fashion to treat +Washington as wise and prudent, but as distinctly slow, and when he +was obliged to concentrate public opinion, either military or civil, +or when doubt overhung his course, he moved with great deliberation. +When he required no concentration of opinion, and had made up his +mind, he could strike with a terribly swift decision, as at Trenton +or Monmouth. So when a new situation presented itself he seized with +wonderful rapidity every phase and possibility opened by changed +conditions. + +The moment he learned from Lafayette that the French succors were +actually on the way, he began to lay out plans in a manner which +showed how he had taken in at the first glance every chance and every +contingency. He wrote that the decisive moment was at hand, and that +the French succors would be fatal if not used successfully now. +Congress must improve their methods of administration, and for this +purpose must appoint a small committee to cooeperate with him. This +step he demanded, and it was taken at once. Fresh from his interview +with Lafayette, he sent out orders to have inquiries made as to +Halifax and its defenses. Possibly a sudden and telling blow might +be struck there, and nothing should be overlooked. He also wrote to +Lafayette to urge upon the French commander an immediate assault on +New York the moment he landed. Yet despite his thought for New York, +he even then began to see the opportunities which were destined to +develop into Yorktown. He had longed to go to the south before, and +had held back only because he felt that the main army and New York +were still the key of the position, and could not be safely abandoned. +Now, while planning the capture of New York, he asked in a letter +whether the enemy was not more exposed at the southward and therefore +a better subject for a combined attack there. Clearness and precision +of plan as to the central point, joined to a perfect readiness to +change suddenly and strike hard and decisively in a totally different +quarter, are sure marks of the great commander. We can find them all +through the correspondence, but here in May, 1780, they come out with +peculiar vividness. They are qualities arising from a wide foresight, +and from a sure and quick perception. They are not the qualities of a +slow or heavy mind. + +On June 1 came the news of the surrender of Charleston and the loss of +the army, which was followed by the return of Clinton to New York. The +southern States lay open now to the enemy, and it was a severe trial +to Washington to be unable to go to their rescue; but with the same +dogged adherence to his ruling idea, he concentrated his attention +on the Hudson with renewed vigilance on account of Clinton's return. +Adversity and prosperity alike were unable to divert him from the +control of the great river and the mastery of the middle States until +he saw conclusive victory elsewhere fairly within his grasp. In the +same unswerving way he pushed on the preparations for what he felt to +be the coming of the decisive campaign and the supreme moment of the +war. To all the governors went urgent letters, calling on the States +to fill their lines in the continental army, and to have their militia +in readiness. + +In the midst of these anxieties and preparations, the French arrived +at Newport, bringing a well-equipped army of some five thousand men, +and a small fleet. They brought, too, something quite as important, +in the way of genuine good-will and full intention to do all in their +power for their allies. After a moment's hesitation, born of unlucky +memories, the people of Rhode Island gave De Rochambeau a hearty +welcome, and Washington sent him the most cordial greeting. With the +greeting went the polite but earnest request for immediate action, +together with plans for attacking New York; and, at the same time, +another urgent call went out to the States for men, money, and +supplies. The long-looked-for hour had arrived, a fine French army was +in Newport, a French fleet rode in the harbor, and instead of action, +immediate and effective, the great event marked only the beginning of +a period of delays and disappointment, wearing heart and nerve almost +beyond endurance. + +First it appeared that the French ships could not get into New York +harbor. Then there was sickness in the French army. Then the British +menaced Newport, and rapid preparations had to be made to meet that +danger. Then it came out that De Rochambeau was ordered to await the +arrival of the second division of the army, with more ships; and after +due waiting, it was discovered that the aforesaid second division, +with their ships, were securely blockaded by the English fleet at +Brest. On our side it was no better; indeed, it was rather worse. +There was lack of arms and powder. The drafts were made with +difficulty, and the new levies came in slowly. Supplies failed +altogether, and on every hand there was nothing but delay, and ever +fresh delay, and in the midst of it all Washington, wrestling with +sloth and incoherence and inefficiency, trampled down one failure and +disappointment only to encounter another, equally important, equally +petty, and equally harassing. + +On August 20 he wrote to Congress a long and most able letter, which +set forth forcibly the evil and perilous condition of affairs. After +reading that letter no man could say that there was not need of the +utmost exertion, and for the expenditure of the last ounce of energy. +In it Washington struck especially at the two delusions with which +the people and their representatives were lulling themselves into +security, and by which they were led to relax their efforts. One was +the belief that England was breaking down; the other, that the arrival +of the French was synonymous with the victorious close of the war. +Washington demonstrated that England still commanded the sea, and that +as long as she did so there was a great advantage on her side. She +was stronger, on the whole, this year than the year before, and her +financial resources were still ample. There was no use in looking for +victory in the weakness of the enemy, and on the other hand, to rely +wholly on France was contemptible as well as foolish. After stating +plainly that the army was on the verge of dissolution, he said: "To me +it will appear miraculous if our affairs can maintain themselves much +longer in their present train. If either the temper or the resources +of the country will not admit of an alteration, we may expect soon +to be reduced to the humiliating condition of seeing the cause of +America, in America, upheld by foreign arms. The generosity of our +allies has a claim to all our confidence and all our gratitude, but +it is neither for the honor of America, nor for the interest of the +common cause, to leave the work entirely to them." + +It must have been bitter to Washington above all men, with his high +dignity and keen sense of national honor, to write such words as +these, or make such an argument to any of his countrymen. But it was a +work which the time demanded, and he did it without flinching. Having +thus laid bare the weak places, he proceeded to rehearse once more, +with a weariness we can easily fancy, the old, old lesson as to +organization, a permanent army, and a better system of administration. +This letter neither scolded, nor bewailed, nor desponded, but it told +the truth with great force and vigor. Of course it had but slight +results, comparatively speaking; still it did something, and the final +success of the Revolution is due to the series of strong truth-telling +letters, of which this is an example, as much as to any one thing done +by Washington. There was need of some one, not only to fight battles +and lead armies, but to drive Congress into some sort of harmony, spur +the careless and indifferent to action, arouse the States, and kill +various fatal delusions, and in Washington the robust teller of +unwelcome truths was found. + +Still, even the results actually obtained by such letters came but +slowly, and Washington felt that he must strike at all hazards. +Through Lafayette he tried to get De Rochambeau to agree to an +immediate attack on New York. His army was on the very eve of +dissolution, and he began with reason to doubt his own power of +holding it together longer. The finances of the country were going +ever faster to irremediable ruin, and it seemed impossible that +anything could postpone open and avowed bankruptcy. So, with his army +crumbling, mutinous, and half starved, he turned to his one unfailing +resource of fighting, and tried to persuade De Rochambeau to join +him. Under the circumstances, Washington was right to wish to risk a +battle, and De Rochambeau, from his point of view, was equally so in +refusing to take the offensive, unless the second division arrived or +De Guichen came with his fleet, or the English force at New York was +reduced. + +In these debates and delays, mingled with an appeal to De Guichen in +the West Indies, the summer was fast wearing away, and, by way of +addition, early in September came tidings of the battle of Camden, +and the utter rout of Gates's army. Despite his own needs and trials, +Washington's first idea was to stem the current of disaster at the +south, and he ordered the fresh Maryland troops to turn back at once +and march to the Carolinas, but Gates fled so fast and far that it +was some time before anything was heard of him. As more news came of +Camden and its beaten general, Washington wrote to Rutledge that he +should ultimately come southward. Meantime, he could only struggle +with his own difficulties, and rack his brains for men and means to +rescue the south. It must have seemed to Washington, in those lovely +September days, as if fate could not have any worse trials in store, +and that if he could only breast the troubles now surging about him, +he might count on sure and speedy success. Yet the bitterest trial of +all was even then hanging over his head, and with a sort of savage +sarcasm it came upon him in one of those rare moments when he had an +hour of rest and sunshine. + +The story of Arnold's treason is easily told. Its romantic side +has made it familiar to all Americans, and given it a factitious +importance. Had it succeeded it would have opened opportunities of +disaster to the American arms, although it would not have affected +the final outcome of the Revolution. As it was it failed, and had no +result whatever. It has passed into history simply as a picturesque +episode, charged with possibilities which attract the imagination, but +having, in itself, neither meaning nor consequences beyond the two +conspirators. To us it is of interest, because it shows Washington in +one of the sharpest and bitterest experiences of his life. Let us see +how he met it and dealt with it. + +From the day when the French landed, both De Rochambeau and +Washington had been most anxious to meet. The French general had been +particularly urgent, but it was difficult for Washington to get away. +As he wrote on August 21: "We are about ten miles from the enemy. Our +popular government imposes a necessity of great circumspection. If +any misfortune should happen in my absence, it would be attended with +every inconvenience. I will, however, endeavor if possible, and as +soon as possible, to meet you at some convenient rendezvous." In +accordance with this promise, a few weeks later, he left Greene in +command of the army, and, not without misgivings, started on September +18 to meet De Rochambeau. On his way he had an interview with Arnold, +who came to him to show a letter from the loyalist Colonel Robinson, +and thus disarm suspicion as to his doings. On the 20th, the day when +Andre and Arnold met to arrange the terms of the sale, Washington was +with De Rochambeau at Hartford. News had arrived, meantime, that De +Guichen had sailed for Europe; the command of the sea was therefore +lost, and the opportunity for action had gone by. There was no need +for further conference, and Washington accordingly set out on his +return at once, two or three days earlier than he had intended. + +He was accompanied by his own staff, and by Knox and Lafayette with +their officers. With him, too, went the young Count Dumas, who has +left a description of their journey, and of the popular enthusiasm +displayed in the towns through which they passed. In one village, +which they reached after nightfall, all the people turned out, the +children bearing torches, and men and women hailed Washington as +father, and pressed about him to touch the hem of his garments. +Turning to Dumas he said, "We may be beaten by the English; it is +the chance of war; but there is the army they will never conquer." +Political leaders grumbled, and military officers caballed, but +the popular feeling went out to Washington with a sure and utter +confidence. The people in that little village recognized the great and +unselfish leader as they recognized Lincoln a century later, and from +the masses of the people no one ever heard the cry that Washington was +cold or unsympathetic. They loved him, and believed in him, and such a +manifestation of their devotion touched him deeply. His spirits rose +under the spell of appreciation and affection, always so strong upon +human nature, and he rode away from Fishkill the next morning at +daybreak with a light heart. + +The company was pleasant and lively, the morning was fair, and as they +approached Arnold's headquarters at the Robinson house, Washington +turned off to the redoubts by the river, telling the young men that +they were all in love with Mrs. Arnold and would do well to go +straight on and breakfast with her. Hamilton and McHenry followed his +advice, and while they were at breakfast a note was brought to Arnold. +It was the letter of warning from Andre announcing his capture, which +Colonel Jameson, who ought to have been cashiered for doing it, had +forwarded. Arnold at once left the table, and saying that he was going +to West Point, jumped into his boat and was rowed rapidly down the +river to the British man-of-war. Washington on his arrival was told +that Arnold had gone to the fort, and so after a hasty breakfast he +went over there himself. On reaching West Point no salute broke the +stillness, and no guard turned out to receive him. He was astonished +to learn that his arrival was unexpected, and that Arnold had not been +there for two days. Still unsuspecting he inspected the works, and +then returned. + +Meantime, the messenger sent to Hartford with the papers taken on +Andre reached the Robinson house and delivered them to Hamilton, +together with a letter of confession from Andre himself. Hamilton read +them, and hurrying out met Washington just coming up from the river. +He took his chief aside, said a few words to him in a low voice, and +they went into the house together. When they came out, Washington +looked as calm as ever, and calling to Lafayette and Knox gave them +the papers, saying simply, "Whom can we trust now?" He dispatched +Hamilton at once to try to intercept Arnold at Verplanck's Point, but +it was too late; the boat had passed, and Arnold was safe on board the +Vulture. This done, Washington bade his staff sit down with him at +dinner, as the general was absent, and Mrs. Arnold was ill in her +room. Dinner over, he immediately set about guarding the post, which +had been so near betrayal. To Colonel Wade at West Point he wrote: +"Arnold has gone to the enemy; you are in command, be vigilant." To +Jameson he sent word to guard Andre closely. To the colonels and +commanders of various outlying regiments he sent orders to bring up +their troops. Everything was done that should have been done, quickly, +quietly, and without comment. The most sudden and appalling treachery +had failed to shake his nerve, or confuse his mind. + +Yet the strong and silent man was wrung to the quick, and when +everything possible had been done, and he had retired to his room, the +guard outside the door heard him marching back and forth through all +the weary night. The one thing he least expected, because he least +understood it, had come to pass. He had been a good and true friend to +the villain who had fled, for Arnold's reckless bravery and dare-devil +fighting had appealed to the strongest passion of his nature, and he +had stood by him always. He had grieved over the refusal of Congress +to promote him in due order and had interceded with ultimate success +in his behalf. He had sympathized with him in his recent troubles +in Philadelphia, and had administered the reprimand awarded by the +court-martial so that rebuke seemed turned to praise. He had sought +to give him every opportunity that a soldier could desire, and had +finally conferred upon him the command of West Point. He had admired +his courage and palliated his misconduct, and now the scoundrel had +turned on him and fled. Mingled with the bitterness of these memories +of betrayed confidence was the torturing ignorance of how far this +base treachery had extended. For all he knew there might be a brood of +traitors about him in the very citadel of America. We can never know +Washington's thoughts at that time, for he was ever silent, but as we +listen in imagination to the sound of the even footfalls which the +guard heard all through that September night, we can dimly guess the +feelings of the strong and passionate nature, wounded and distressed +almost beyond endurance. + +There is but little more to tell. The conspiracy stopped with Arnold. +He had no accomplices, and meant to deliver the post and pocket the +booty alone. The British tried to spread the idea that other officers +had been corrupted, but the attempt failed, and Washington's prompt +measures of defense checked any movement against the forts. Every +effort was made by Clinton to save Andre, but in vain. He was tried +by a court composed of the highest officers in the American service, +among whom was Lafayette. On his own statement, but one decision was +possible. He was condemned as a spy, and as a spy he was sentenced to +be hanged. He made a manly appeal against the manner of his death, and +begged to be shot. Washington declined to interfere, and Andre went to +the gallows. + +The British, at the time, and some of their writers afterwards, +attacked Washington for insisting on this mode of execution, but there +never was an instance in his career when he was more entirely right. +Andre was a spy and briber, who sought to ruin the American cause +by means of the treachery of an American general. It was a dark and +dangerous game, and he knew that he staked his life on the result. He +failed, and paid the penalty. Washington could not permit, he would +have been grossly and feebly culpable if he had permitted, such an +attempt to pass without extreme punishment. He was generous and +magnanimous, but he was not a sentimentalist, and he punished this +miserable treason, so far as he could reach it, as it deserved. It is +true that Andre was a man of talent, well-bred and courageous, and of +engaging manners. He deserved all the sympathy and sorrow which he +excited at the time, but nothing more. He was not only technically a +spy, but he had sought his ends by bribery, he had prostituted a flag +of truce, and he was to be richly paid for his work. It was all hire +and salary. No doubt Andre was patriotic and loyal. Many spies have +been the same, and have engaged in their dangerous exploits from +the highest motives. Nathan Hale, whom the British hanged without +compunction, was as well-born and well-bred as Andre, and as patriotic +as man could be, and moreover he was a spy and nothing more. Andre +was a trafficker in bribes and treachery, and however we may pity his +fate, his name has no proper place in the great temple at Westminster, +where all English-speaking people bow with reverence, and only a most +perverted sentimentality could conceive that it was fitting to erect a +monument to his memory in this country. + +Washington sent Andre to the gallows because it was his duty to do so, +but he pitied him none the less, and whatever he may have thought of +the means Andre employed to effect his end, he made no comment upon +him, except to say that "he met his fate with that fortitude which was +to be expected from an accomplished man and gallant officer." As to +Arnold, he was almost equally silent. When obliged to refer to him he +did so in the plainest and simplest way, and only in a familiar letter +to Laurens do we get a glimpse of his feelings. He wrote: "I am +mistaken if at this time Arnold is undergoing the torment of a mental +hell. He wants feeling. From some traits of his character which have +lately come to my knowledge, he seems to have been so hackneyed in +villainy, and so lost to all sense of honor and shame, that, while his +faculties will enable him to continue his sordid pursuits, there will +be no time for remorse." With this single expression of measureless +contempt, Washington let Arnold drop from his life. The first shock +had touched him to the quick, although it could not shake his steady +mind. Reflection revealed to him the extraordinary baseness of +Arnold's real character, and he cast the thought of him out forever, +content to leave the traitor to the tender mercies of history. The +calmness and dignity, the firmness and deep feeling which Washington +exhibited, are of far more interest than the abortive treason, and +have as real a value now as they had then, when suspicion for a moment +ran riot, and men wondered "whom they could trust." + +The treason of Arnold swept like a black cloud across the sky, broke, +and left everything as before. That such a base peril should have +existed was alarming and hateful. That it should have been exploded +harmlessly made all men give a deep sigh of relief. But neither the +treason nor its discovery altered the current of events one jot. The +summer had come and gone. The French had arrived, and no blow had +been struck. There was nothing to show for the campaign but +inaction, disappointment, and the loss of the Carolinas. With the +commander-in-chief, through it all, were ever present two great +questions, getting more portentous and more difficult of solution with +each succeeding day. How he was to keep his army in existence was one, +and how he was to hold the government together was the other. He +had thirteen tired States, a general government almost impotent, a +bankrupt treasury, and a broken credit. The American Revolution had +come down to the question of whether the brain, will, and nerve of one +man could keep the machine going long enough to find fit opportunity +for a final and decisive stroke. Washington had confidence in the +people of the country and in himself, but the difficulties in the way +were huge, and the means of surmounting them slight. There is here +and there a passionate undertone in the letters of this period, which +shows us the moments when the waves of trouble and disaster seemed to +sweep over him. But the feeling passed, or was trampled under +foot, for there was no break in the steady fight against untoward +circumstances, or in the grim refusal to accept defeat. + +It is almost impossible now to conceive the actual condition at that +time of every matter of detail which makes military and political +existence possible. No general phrases can do justice to the situation +of the army; and the petty miseries and privations, which made life +unendurable, went on from day to day in ever varying forms. While +Washington was hearing the first ill news from the south and +struggling with the problem on that side, and at the same time was +planning with Lafayette how to take advantage of the French succors, +the means of subsisting his army were wholly giving out. The men +actually had no food. For days, as Washington wrote, there was no meat +at all in camp. Goaded by hunger, a Connecticut regiment mutinied. +They were brought back to duty, but held out steadily for their pay, +which they had not received for five months. Indeed, the whole army +was more or less mutinous, and it was only by the utmost tact that +Washington kept them from wholesale desertion. After the summer had +passed and the chance for a decisive campaign had gone with it, the +excitement of expected action ceased to sustain the men, and the +unclothed, unpaid, unfed soldiers began again to get restive. We can +imagine what the condition of the rank and file must have been when +we find that Washington himself could not procure an express from +the quartermaster-general, and was obliged to send a letter to the +Minister of France by the unsafe and slow medium of the post. He was +expected to carry on a war against a rich and powerful enemy, and he +could not even pay a courier to carry his dispatches. + +With the commander-in-chief thus straitened, the sufferings of the +men grew to be intolerable, and the spirit of revolt which had been +checked through the summer began again to appear. At last, in January, +1781, it burst all the bounds. The Pennsylvania line mutinied and +threatened Congress. Attempts on the part of the English to seduce +them failed, but they remained in a state of open rebellion. The +officers were powerless, and it looked as if the disaffection would +spread, and the whole army go to pieces in the very face of the enemy. +Washington held firm, and intended in his unshaken way to bring them +back to their duty without yielding in a dangerous fashion. But the +government of Pennsylvania, at last thoroughly frightened, rushed into +the field, and patched up a compromise which contained most perilous +concessions. The natural consequence was a fresh mutiny in the New +Jersey line, and this time Washington determined that he would not be +forestalled. He sent forward at once some regiments of loyal troops, +suppressed the mutiny suddenly and with a strong hand, and hanged +two of the ringleaders. The difficulty was conquered, and discipline +restored. + +To take this course required great boldness, for these mutinies were +of no ordinary character. In the first place, it was impossible to +tell whether any troops would do their duty against their fellows, and +failure would have been fatal. In the second place, the grievances +of the soldiers were very great, and their complaints were entirely +righteous. Washington felt the profoundest sympathy with his men, and +it was no easy matter to maintain order with soldiers tried almost +beyond endurance, against their comrades whose claims were just. Two +things saved the army. One was Washington's great influence with the +men and their utter belief in him. The other was the quality of +the men themselves. Lafayette said they were the most patient and +patriotic soldiers the world had seen, and it is easy to believe him. +The wonder is, not that they mutinied when they did, but that the +whole army had not mutinied and abandoned the struggle years before. +The misfortunes and mistakes of the Revolution, to whomever due, were +in no respect to be charged to the army, and the conduct of the troops +through all the dreary months of starvation and cold and poverty is +a proof of the intelligent patriotism and patient courage of the +American soldier which can never be gainsaid. To fight successful +battles is the test of a good general, but to hold together a +suffering army through years of unexampled privations, to meet endless +failure of details with unending expedients, and then to fight battles +and plan campaigns, shows a leader who was far more than a good +general. Such multiplied trials and difficulties are overcome only by +a great soldier who with small means achieves large results, and by a +great man who by force of will and character can establish with all +who follow him a power which no miseries can conquer, and no suffering +diminish. + +The height reached by the troubles in the army and their menacing +character had, however, a good as well as a bad side. They penetrated +the indifference and carelessness of both Congress and the States. +Gentlemen in the confederate and local administrations and +legislatures woke up to a realizing sense that the dissolution of the +army meant a general wreck, in which their own necks would be in very +considerable danger; and they also had an uneasy feeling that starving +and mutinous soldiers were very uncertain in taking revenge. +The condition of the army gave a sudden and piercing reality to +Washington's indignant words to Mathews on October 4: "At a time when +public harmony is so essential, when we should aid and assist each +other with all our abilities, when our hearts should be open to +information and our hands ready to administer relief, to find +distrusts and jealousies taking possession of the mind and a party +spirit prevailing affords a most melancholy reflection, and forebodes +no good." The hoarse murmur of impending mutiny emphasized strongly +the words written on the same day to Duane: "The history of the war is +a history of false hopes and temporary expedients. Would to God they +were to end here." + +The events in the south, too, had a sobering effect. The congressional +general Gates had not proved a success. His defeat at Camden had +been terribly complete, and his flight had been too rapid to inspire +confidence in his capacity for recuperation. The members of Congress +were thus led to believe that as managers of military matters they +left much to be desired; and when Washington, on October 11, addressed +to them one of his long and admirable letters on reorganization, it +was received in a very chastened spirit. They had listened to many +such letters before, and had benefited by them always a little, +but danger and defeat gave this one peculiar point. They therefore +accepted the situation, and adopted all the suggestions of the +commander-in-chief. They also in the same reasonable frame of mind +determined that Washington should select the next general for the +southern army. A good deal could have been saved had this decision +been reached before; but even now it was not too late. October 14, +Washington appointed Greene to this post of difficulty and danger, and +Greene's assumption of the command marks the turning-point in the +tide of disaster, and the beginning of the ultimate expulsion of the +British from the only portion of the colonies where they had made a +tolerable campaign. + +The uses of adversity, moreover, did not stop here. They extended to +the States, which began to grow more vigorous in action, and to show +signs of appreciating the gravity of the situation and the duties +which rested upon them. This change and improvement both in Congress +and the States came none too soon. Indeed, as it was, the results of +their renewed efforts were too slow to be felt at once by the army, +and mutinies broke out even after the new spirit had shown itself. +Washington also sent Knox to travel from State to State, to see the +various governors, and lay the situation of affairs before them; yet +even with such a text it was a difficult struggle to get the States to +make quick and strong exertions sufficient to prevent a partial mutiny +from becoming a general revolt. The lesson, however, had had its +effect. For the moment, at least, the cause was saved. The worst +defects were temporarily remedied, and something was done toward +supplies and subsistence. The army would be able to exist through +another winter, and face another summer. Then the next campaign might +bring the decisive moment; but still, who could tell? Years, instead +of months, might yet elapse before the end was reached, and then no +man could say what the result would be. + +Washington saw plainly enough that the relief and improvement were +only temporary, and that carelessness and indifference were likely to +return, and be more case-hardened than ever. He was too strong and +sane a man to waste time in fighting shadows or in nourishing himself +with hopes. He dealt with the present as he found it, and fought down +difficulties as they sprang up in his path. But he was also a man of +extraordinary prescience, with a foresight as penetrating as it was +judicious. It was, perhaps, his most remarkable gift, and while +he controlled the present he studied the future. Outside of the +operations of armies, and the plans of campaign, he saw, as the +war progressed, that the really fatal perils were involved in the +political system. At the beginning of the Revolution there was no +organization outside the local state governments. Congress voted and +resolved in favor of anything that seemed proper, and the States +responded to their appeal. In the first flush of revolution, and the +first excitement of freedom, this was all very well. But as the +early passion cooled, and a long and stubborn struggle, replete with +sufferings and defeat, developed itself, the want of system began to +appear. + +One of the earliest tasks of Congress was the formation of articles +for a general government, but state jealousies, and the delays +incident to the movements of thirteen sovereignties, prevented their +adoption until the war was nearly over. Washington, suffering from all +the complicated troubles of jarring States and general incoherence, +longed for and urged the adoption of the act of confederation. He saw +sooner than any one else, and with more painful intensity, the need of +better union and more energetic government. As the days and months of +difficulties and trials went by, the suggestions on this question in +his letters grew more frequent and more urgent, and they showed the +insight of the statesman and practical man of affairs. How much he +hoped from the final acceptance of the act of confederation it is not +easy to say, but he hoped for some improvement certainly. When at last +it went into force, he saw almost at once that it would not do, and in +the spring of 1780 he knew it to be a miserable failure. The system +which had been established was really no better than that which had +preceded it. With alarm and disgust Washington found himself flung +back on what he called "the pernicious state system," and with worse +prospects than ever. + +Up to the time of the Revolution he had never given attention to the +philosophy or science of government, but when it fell to his lot to +fight the war for independence he perceived almost immediately the +need of a strong central government, and his suggestions, scattered +broadcast among his correspondents, manifested a knowledge of the +conditions of the political problem possessed by no one else at that +period. When he was satisfied of the failure of the confederation, his +efforts to improve the existing administration multiplied, and he soon +had the assistance of his aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, who then +wrote, although little more than a boy, his remarkable letters on +government and finance, which were the first full expositions of the +political necessities from which sprang the Constitution of the United +States. Washington was vigorous in action and methodical in business, +while the system of thirteen sovereignties was discordant, disorderly, +and feeble in execution. He knew that the vices inherent in the +confederation were ineradicable and fatal, and he also knew that it +was useless to expect any comprehensive reforms until the war was +over. The problem before him was whether the existing machine could be +made to work until the British were finally driven from the country. +The winter of 1780-81 was marked, therefore, on his part, by an urgent +striving for union, and by unceasing efforts to mend and improve the +rickety system of the confederation. It was with this view that he +secured the dispatch of Laurens, whom he carefully instructed, to get +money in Paris; for he was satisfied that it was only possible to tide +over the financial difficulties by foreign loans from those interested +in our success. In the same spirit he worked to bring about +the establishment of executive departments, which was finally +accomplished, after delays that sorely tried his patience. These two +cases were but the most important among many of similar character, for +he was always at work on these perplexing questions. + +It is an astonishing proof of the strength and power of his mind that +he was able to solve the daily questions of army existence, to deal +with the allies, to plan attacks on New York, to watch and scheme for +the southern department, to cope with Arnold's treason, with mutiny, +and with administrative imbecility, and at the very same time consider +the gravest governmental problems, and send forth wise suggestions, +which met the exigencies of the moment, and laid the foundation of +much that afterwards appeared in the Constitution of the United +States. He was not a speculator on government, and after his fashion +he was engaged in dealing with the questions of the day and hour. Yet +the ideas that he put forth in this time of confusion and conflict and +expedients were so vitally sound and wise that they deserve the most +careful study in relation to after events. The political trials +and difficulties of this period were the stern teachers from whom +Washington acquired the knowledge and experience which made him the +principal agent in bringing about the formation and adoption of the +Constitution of the United States. We shall have occasion to examine +these opinions and views more closely when they were afterwards +brought into actual play. At this point it is only necessary to trace +the history of the methods by which he solved the problem of the +Revolution before the political system of the confederation became +absolutely useless. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +YORKTOWN + + +The failure to accomplish anything in the north caused Washington, +as the year drew to a close, to turn his thoughts once more toward a +combined movement at the south. In pursuance of this idea, he devised +a scheme of uniting with the Spaniards in the seizure of Florida, and +of advancing thence through Georgia to assail the English in the rear. +De Rochambeau did not approve the plan, and it was abandoned; but the +idea of a southern movement was still kept steadily in sight. The +governing thought now was, not to protect this place or that, but to +cast aside everything else in order to strike one great blow which +would finish the war. Where he could do this, time alone would show, +but if one follows the correspondence closely, it is apparent that +Washington's military instinct turned more and more toward the south. + +In that department affairs changed their aspect rapidly. January 17, +Morgan won his brilliant victory at the Cowpens, withdrew in good +order with his prisoners, and united his army with that of Greene. +Cornwallis was terribly disappointed by this unexpected reverse, but +he determined to push on, defeat the combined American army, and then +join the British forces on the Chesapeake. Greene was too weak to risk +a battle, and made a masterly retreat of two hundred miles before +Cornwallis, escaping across the Dan only twelve hours ahead of the +enemy. The moment the British moved away, Greene recrossed the river +and hung upon their rear. For a month he kept in their neighborhood, +checking the rising of the Tories, and declining battle. At last he +received reinforcements, felt strong enough to stand his ground, and +on March 15 the battle of Guilford Court House was fought. It was a +sharp and bloody fight; the British had the advantage, and Greene +abandoned the field, bringing off his army in good order. Cornwallis, +on his part, had suffered so heavily, however, that his victory turned +to ashes. On the 18th he was in full retreat, with Greene in hot +chase, and it was not until the 28th that he succeeded in getting over +the Deep River and escaping to Wilmington. Thence he determined to +push on and transfer the seat of war to the Chesapeake. Greene, with +the boldness and quickness which showed him to be a soldier of a high +order, now dropped the pursuit and turned back to fight the British in +detachments and free the southern States. There is no need to follow +him in the brilliant operations which ensued, and by which he achieved +this result. It is sufficient to say here that he had altered the +whole aspect of the war, forced Cornwallis into Virginia within reach +of Washington, and begun the work of redeeming the Carolinas. + +The troops which Cornwallis intended to join had been sent in +detachments to Virginia during the winter and spring. The first body +had arrived early in January under the command of Arnold, and a +general marauding and ravaging took place. A little later General +Phillips arrived with reinforcements and took command. On May 13, +General Phillips died, and a week later Cornwallis appeared at +Petersburg, assumed control, and sent Arnold back to New York. + +Meantime Washington, though relieved by Morgan's and Greene's +admirable work, had a most trying and unhappy winter and spring. He +sent every man he could spare, and more than he ought to have spared, +to Greene, and he stripped himself still further when the invasion of +Virginia began. But for the most part he was obliged, from lack of any +naval strength, to stand helplessly by and see more and more British +troops sent to the south, and witness the ravaging of his native +State, without any ability to prevent it. To these grave trials was +added a small one, which stung him to the quick. The British came up +the Potomac, and Lund Washington, in order to preserve Mount Vernon, +gave them refreshments, and treated them in a conciliatory manner. He +meant well but acted ill, and Washington wrote:-- + +"It would have been a less painful circumstance to me to have heard +that, in consequence of your non-compliance with their request, they +had burnt my house and laid the plantation in ruins. You ought to have +considered yourself as my representative, and should have reflected +on the bad example of communicating with the enemy, and making a +voluntary offer of refreshments to them, with a view to prevent a +conflagration." + +What a clear glimpse this little episode gives of the earnestness of +the man who wrote these lines. He could not bear the thought that any +favor should be shown him on any pretense. He was ready to take his +share of the marauding and pillaging with the rest, but he was deeply +indignant at the idea that any one representing him should even appear +to ask a favor of the British. + +Altogether, the spring of 1781 was very trying, for there was nothing +so galling to Washington as to be unable to fight. He wanted to get to +the south, but he was bound hand and foot by lack of force. Yet the +obstacles did not daunt or depress him. He wrote in June that he felt +sure of bringing the war to a happy conclusion, and in the division of +the British forces he saw his opportunity taking shape. Greene had +the southern forces well in hand. Cornwallis was equally removed from +Clinton on the north and Rawdon on the south, and had come within +reach; so that if he could but have naval strength he could fall upon +Cornwallis with superior force and crush him. In naval matters fortune +thus far had dealt hardly with him, yet he could not but feel that +a French fleet of sufficient force must soon come. He grasped the +situation with a master-hand, and began to prepare the way. Still he +kept his counsel strictly to himself, and set to work to threaten, and +if possible to attack, New York, not with much hope of succeeding +in any such attempt, but with a view of frightening Clinton and of +inducing him either to withdraw troops from Virginia, or at least to +withhold reinforcements. As he began his Virginian campaign in this +distant and remote fashion at the mouth of the Hudson, he was cheered +by news that De Grasse, the French admiral, had sent recruits to +Newport, and intended to come himself to the American coast. He at +once wrote De Grasse not to determine absolutely to come to New +York, hinting that it might prove more advisable to operate to the +southward. It required great tact to keep the French fleet where he +needed it, and yet not reveal his intentions, and nothing showed +Washington's foresight more plainly than the manner in which he made +the moves in this campaign, when miles of space and weeks of time +separated him from the final object of his plans. To trace this +mastery of details, and the skill with which every point was +remembered and covered, would require a long and minute narrative. +They can only be indicated here sufficiently to show how exactly each +movement fitted in its place, and how all together brought the great +result. + +Fortified by the good news from De Grasse, Washington had an interview +with De Rochambeau, and effected a junction with the French army. Thus +strengthened, he opened his campaign against Cornwallis by beginning a +movement against Clinton. The troops were massed above the city, and +an effort was made to surprise the upper posts and destroy Delancey's +partisan corps. The attempt, although well planned, failed of its +immediate purpose, giving Washington opportunity only for an effective +reconnoissance of the enemy's positions. But the move was perfectly +successful in its real and indirect object. Clinton was alarmed. He +began to write to Cornwallis that troops should be returned to New +York, and he gave up absolutely the idea of sending more men to +Virginia. Having thus convinced Clinton that New York was menaced, +Washington then set to work to familiarize skillfully the minds of his +allies and of Congress with the idea of a southern campaign. With this +end in view, he wrote on August 2 that, if more troops arrived from +Virginia, New York would be impracticable, and that the next point +was the south. The only contingency, as he set forth, was the +all-important one of obtaining naval superiority. August 15 this +essential condition gave promise of fulfillment, for on that day +definite news arrived that De Grasse with his fleet was on his way to +the Chesapeake. Without a moment's hesitation, Washington began to +move, and at the same time he sent an urgent letter to the New England +governors, demanding troops with an earnestness which he had never +surpassed. + +In Virginia, meanwhile, during these long midsummer days, while +Washington was waiting and planning, Cornwallis had been going up and +down, harrying, burning, and plundering. His cavalry had scattered the +legislature, and driven Governor Jefferson in headlong flight over the +hills, while property to the value of more than three millions had +been destroyed. Lafayette, sent by Washington to maintain the American +cause, had been too weak to act decisively, but he had been true to +his general's teaching, and, refusing battle, had hung upon the flanks +of the British and harassed and checked them. Joined by Wayne, he had +fought an unsuccessful engagement at Green Springs, but brought off +his army, and with steady pertinacity followed the enemy to the coast, +gathering strength as he moved. Now, when all was at last ready, +Washington began to draw his net about Cornwallis, whom he had been +keenly watching during the victorious marauding of the summer. On the +news of the coming of the French fleet, he wrote to Lafayette to be +prepared to join him when he reached Virginia, to retain Wayne, who +intended to join Greene, and to stop Cornwallis at all hazards, if he +attempted to go southward. + +Cornwallis, however, had no intention of moving. He had seen the peril +of his position, and had wished to withdraw to Charleston; but the +ministry, highly pleased with his performances, wished him to remain +on the Chesapeake, and decisive orders came to him to take a permanent +post in that region. Clinton, moreover, was jealous of Cornwallis, +and, impressed and deceived by Washington's movements, he not only +sent no reinforcements, but detained three thousand Hessians, who had +lately arrived. Cornwallis, therefore, had no choice, and with much +writing for aid, and some protesting, he obeyed his orders, planted +himself at Yorktown and Gloucester, and proceeded to fortify, while +Lafayette kept close watch upon him. Cornwallis was a good soldier and +a clever man, suffering, as Burgoyne did, from a stupid ministry and +a dull and jealous commander-in-chief. Thus hampered and burdened, +he was ready to fall a victim to the operations of a really great +general, whom his official superiors in England undervalued and +despised. + +August 17, as soon as he had set his own machinery in motion, +Washington wrote to De Grasse to meet him in the Chesapeake. He was +working now more anxiously and earnestly than at any time in the +Revolution, not merely because he felt that success depended on the +blow, but because he descried a new and alarming danger. He had +perceived it in June, and the idea pursued him until all was over, and +kept recurring in his letters during this strained and eager summer. +To Washington's eyes, watching campaigns and government at home and +the politics of Europe abroad, the signs of exhaustion, of mediation, +and of coming peace across the Atlantic were plainly visible. If peace +should come as things then were, America would get independence, and +be shorn of many of her most valuable possessions. The sprawling +British campaign of maraud and plunder, so bad in a military point of +view, and about to prove fatal to Cornwallis, would, in case of sudden +cessation of hostilities, be capable of the worst construction. Time, +therefore, had become of the last importance. The decisive blow must +be given at once, and before the slow political movements could come +to a head. On July 14, Washington had his plan mapped out. He wrote in +his diary:-- + +"Matters having now come to a crisis, and a decided plan to be +determined on, I was obliged--from the shortness of Count De Grasse's +promised stay on this coast, the apparent disinclination of their +naval officers to force the harbor of New York, and the feeble +compliance of the States with my requisitions for men hitherto, and +the little prospect of greater exertions in future--to give up all +ideas of attacking New York, and instead thereof to remove the French +troops and a detachment from the American army to the Head of Elk, to +be transported to Virginia for the purpose of cooeperating with the +force from the West Indies against the troops in that State." + +Like most of Washington's plans, this one was clear-cut and direct, +and looks now simple enough, but at the moment it was hedged with +almost inconceivable difficulties at every step. The ever-present and +ever-growing obstacles at home were there as usual. Appeals to Morris +for money were met by the most discouraging responses, and the States +seemed more lethargic than ever. Neither men nor supplies could be +obtained; neither transportation nor provision for the march could be +promised. Then, too, in addition to all this, came a wholly new set of +stumbling-blocks arising among the allies. Everything hinged on the +naval force. Washington needed it for a short time only; but for that +crucial moment he must have not only superiority but supremacy at sea. +Every French ship that could be reached must be in the Chesapeake, and +Washington had had too many French fleets slip away from him at the +last moment and bring everything to naught to take any chances in this +direction. To bring about his naval supremacy required the utmost +tact and good management, and that he succeeded is one of the +chief triumphs of the campaign. In fact, at the very outset he was +threatened in this quarter with a serious defection. De Barras, with +the squadron of the American station, was at Boston, and it was +essential that he should be united with De Grasse at Yorktown. But De +Barras was nettled by the favoritism which had made De Grasse, his +junior in service, his superior in command. He determined therefore to +take advantage of his orders and sail away to the north to Nova Scotia +and Newfoundland, and leave De Grasse to fight it out alone. It is a +hard thing to beat an opposing army, but it is equally hard to bring +human jealousies and ambitions into the narrow path of self-sacrifice +and subordination. Alarmed beyond measure at the suggested departure +of the Boston squadron, Washington wrote a letter, which De Rochambeau +signed with him, urging De Barras to turn his fleet toward the +Chesapeake. It was a skillfully drawn missive, an adroit mingling of +appeals to honor and sympathy and of vigorous demands to perform an +obvious duty. The letter did its work, the diplomacy of Washington was +successful, and De Barras suppressed his feelings of disappointment, +and agreed to go to the Chesapeake and serve under De Grasse. + +This point made, Washington pushed on his preparations, or rather +pushed on despite his lack of preparations, and on August 17, as has +been said, wrote to De Grasse to meet him in the Chesapeake. He left +the larger part of his own troops with Heath, to whom in carefully +drawn instructions he intrusted the grave duty of guarding the Hudson +and watching the British in New York. This done, he gathered his +forces together, and on August 21 the army started on its march to the +south. On the 23d and 24th it crossed the Hudson, without annoyance +from the British of any kind. Washington had threatened New York so +effectively, and manoeuvred so successfully, that Clinton could not be +shaken in his belief that the real object of the Americans was his own +army; and it was not until September 6 that he fully realized that his +enemy was going to the south, and that Cornwallis was in danger. He +even then hesitated and delayed, but finally dispatched Admiral Graves +with the fleet to the Chesapeake. The Admiral came upon the French +early on September 5, the very day that Washington was rejoicing in +the news that De Grasse had arrived in the Chesapeake and had landed +St. Simon and three thousand men to support Lafayette. As soon as the +English fleet appeared, the French, although many of their men were +on shore, sailed out and gave battle. An indecisive action ensued, in +which the British suffered so much that five days later they burned +one of their frigates and withdrew to New York. De Grasse returned to +his anchorage, to find that De Barras had come in from Newport with +eight ships and ten transports carrying ordnance. + +While everything was thus moving well toward the consummation of the +campaign, Washington, in the midst of his delicate and important work +of breaking camp and beginning his rapid march to the south, was +harassed by the ever-recurring difficulties of the feeble and bankrupt +government of the confederation. He wrote again and again to Morris +for money, and finally got some. His demands for men and supplies +remained almost unheeded, but somehow he got provisions enough to +start. He foresaw the most pressing need, and sent messages in all +directions for shipping to transport his army down the Chesapeake. No +one responded, but still he gathered the transports; at first a few, +then more, and finally, after many delays, enough to move his army to +Yorktown. The spectacle of such a struggle, so heroically made, one +would think, might have inspired every soul on the continent with +enthusiasm; but at this very moment, while Washington was breaking +camp and marching southward, Congress was considering the reduction +of the army!--which was as appropriate as it would have been for the +English Parliament to have reduced the navy on the eve of Trafalgar, +or for Lincoln to have advised the restoration of the army to a peace +footing while Grant was fighting in the Wilderness. The fact was that +the Continental Congress was weakened in ability and very tired in +point of nerve and will-power. They saw that peace was coming, and +naturally thought that the sooner they could get it the better. They +entirely failed to see, as Washington saw, that in a too sudden peace +lurked the danger of the _uti possidetis_, and that the mere fact of +peace by no means implied necessarily complete success. They did not, +of course, effect their reductions, but they remained inert, and so +for the most part did the state governments, becoming drags upon +the wheels of war instead of helpers to the man who was driving the +Revolution forward to its goal. Both state and confederate governments +still meant well, but they were worn out and relaxed. Yet over and +through all these heavy masses of misapprehension and feebleness, +Washington made his way. Here again all that can be said is that +somehow or other the thing was done. We can take account of the +resisting forces, but we cannot tell just how they were dealt with. +We only know that one strong man trampled them down and got what he +wanted done. + +Pushing on after the joyful news of the arrival of De Grasse had been +received, Washington left the army to go by water from the Head of +Elk, and hurried to Mount Vernon, accompanied by De Rochambeau. It +was six years since he had seen his home. He had left it a Virginian +colonel, full of forebodings for his country, with a vast and unknown +problem awaiting solution at his hands. He returned to it the first +soldier of his day, after six years of battle and trial, of victory +and defeat, on the eve of the last and crowning triumph. As he paused +on the well-beloved spot, and gazed across the broad and beautiful +river at his feet, thoughts and remembrances must have come thronging +to his mind which it is given to few men to know. He lingered there +two days, and then pressing on again, was in Williamsburg on the 14th, +and on the 17th went on board the Ville de Paris to congratulate De +Grasse on his victory, and to concert measures for the siege. + +The meeting was most agreeable. All had gone well, all promised well, +and everything was smiling and harmonious. Yet they were on the eve +of the greatest peril which occurred in the campaign. Washington +had managed to scrape together enough transports; but his almost +unassisted labors had taken time, and delay had followed. Then the +transports were slow, and winds and tides were uncertain, and there +was further delay. The interval permitted De Grasse to hear that the +British fleet had received reinforcements, and to become nervous in +consequence. He wanted to get out to sea; the season was advancing, +and he was anxious to return to the West Indies; and above all he +did not wish to fight in the bay. He therefore proposed firmly and +vigorously to leave two ships in the river, and stand out to sea with +his fleet. The Yorktown campaign began to look as if it had reached +its conclusion. Once again Washington wrote one of his masterly +letters of expostulation and remonstrance, and once more he prevailed, +aided by the reasoning and appeals of Lafayette, who carried the +message. De Grasse consented to stay, and Washington, grateful beyond +measure, wrote him that "a great mind knows how to make personal +sacrifice to secure an important general good." Under the +circumstances, and in view of the general truth of this complimentary +sentiment, one cannot help rejoicing that De Grasse had "a great +mind." + +At all events he stayed, and thereafter everything went well. The +northern army landed at Williamsburg and marched for Yorktown on the +28th. They reconnoitred the outlying works the next day, and prepared +for an immediate assault; but in the night Cornwallis abandoned all +his outside works and withdrew into the town. Washington thereupon +advanced at once, and prepared for the siege. On the night of the 5th, +the trenches were opened only six hundred yards from the enemy's line, +and in three days the first parallel was completed. On the 11th the +second parallel was begun, and on the 14th the American batteries +played on the two advanced redoubts with such effect that the breaches +were pronounced practicable. Washington at once ordered an assault. +The smaller redoubt was stormed by the Americans under Hamilton and +taken in ten minutes. The other, larger and more strongly garrisoned, +was carried by the French with equal gallantry, after half an hour's +fighting. During the assault Washington stood in an embrasure of the +grand battery watching the advance of the men. He was always given to +exposing himself recklessly when there was fighting to be done, but +not when he was only an observer. This night, however, he was much +exposed to the enemy's fire. One of his aides, anxious and disturbed +for his safety, told him that the place was perilous. "If you think +so," was the quiet answer, "you are at liberty to step back." The +moment was too exciting, too fraught with meaning, to think of peril. +The old fighting spirit of Braddock's field was unchained for the last +time. He would have liked to head the American assault, sword in hand, +and as he could not do that he stood as near his troops as he could, +utterly regardless of the bullets whistling in the air about him. Who +can wonder at his intense excitement at that moment? Others saw a +brilliant storming of two outworks, but to Washington the whole +Revolution, and all the labor and thought and conflict of six years +were culminating in the smoke and din on those redoubts, while out of +the dust and heat of the sharp quick fight success was coming. He +had waited long, and worked hard, and his whole soul went out as he +watched the troops cross the abattis and scale the works. He could +have no thought of danger then, and when all was over he turned to +Knox and said, "The work is done, and well done. Bring me my horse." + +Washington was not mistaken. The work was indeed done. Tarleton early +in the siege had dashed out against Lauzun on the other side of the +river and been repulsed. Cornwallis had been forced back steadily into +the town, and his redoubts, as soon as taken, were included in the +second parallel. A sortie to retake the redoubts failed, and a wild +attempt to transport the army across the river was stopped by a gale +of wind. On the 17th Cornwallis was compelled to face much bloody and +useless slaughter, or to surrender. He chose the latter course, and +after opening negotiations and trying in vain to obtain delay, finally +signed the capitulation and gave up the town. The next day the troops +marched out and laid down their arms. Over 7000 British and Hessian +troops surrendered. It was a crushing defeat. The victorious army +consisted in round numbers of 5500 continentals, 3500 militia, and +7000 French, and they were backed by the French fleet with entire +control of the sea. + +When Washington had once reached Yorktown with his fleet and army, the +campaign was really at an end, for he held Cornwallis in an iron grip +from which there was no escape. The masterly part of the Yorktown +campaign lay in the manner in which it was brought about, in the +management of so many elements, and in the rapidity of movement which +carried an army without any proper supplies or means of transportation +from New York to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The control of the sea +had been the great advantage of the British from the beginning, and +had enabled them to achieve all that they ever gained. With these odds +against him, with no possibility of obtaining a fleet of his own, +Washington saw that his only chance of bringing the war to a quick and +successful issue was by means of the French. It is difficult to manage +allied troops. It is still more difficult to manage allied troops and +an allied fleet. Washington did both with infinite address, and won. +The chief factor of his success in this direction lay in his profound +personal influence on all men with whom he came in contact. His +courtesy and tact were perfect, but he made no concessions, and +never stooped. The proudest French noble who came here shrank from +disagreement with the American general, and yet not one of them had +anything but admiration and respect to express when they wrote of +Washington in their memoirs, diaries, and letters. He impressed them +one and all with a sense of power and greatness which could not +be disregarded. Many times he failed to get the French fleet in +cooeperation, but finally it came. Then he put forth all his influence +and all his address, and thus he got De Barras to the Chesapeake, and +kept De Grasse at Yorktown. + +This was one side of the problem, the most essential because +everything hinged on the fleet, but by no means the most harassing. +The doubt about the control of the sea made it impossible to work +steadily for a sufficient time toward any one end. It was necessary to +have a plan for every contingency, and be ready to adopt any one of +several plans at short notice. With a foresight and judgment that +never failed, Washington planned an attack on New York, another on +Yorktown, and a third on Charleston. The division of the British +forces gave him his opportunity of striking at one point with an +overwhelming force, but there was always the possibility of their +suddenly reuniting. In the extreme south he felt reasonably sure that +Greene would hold Rawdon, but he was obliged to deceive and amuse +Clinton, and at the same time, with a ridiculously inferior force, +to keep Cornwallis from marching to South Carolina. Partly by good +fortune, partly by skill, Cornwallis was kept in Virginia, while by +admirably managed feints and threats Clinton was held in New York in +inactivity. When the decisive moment came, and it was evident that the +control of the sea was to be determined in the Chesapeake, Washington, +overriding all sorts of obstacles, moved forward, despite a bankrupt +and inert government, with a rapidity and daring which have been +rarely equaled. It was a bold stroke to leave Clinton behind at the +mouth of the Hudson, and only the quickness with which it was done, +and the careful deception which had been practiced, made it possible. +Once at Yorktown, there was little more to do. The combination was +so perfect, and the judgment had been so sure, that Cornwallis was +crushed as helplessly as if he had been thrown before the car of +Juggernaut. There was really but little fighting, for there was no +opportunity to fight. Washington held the British in a vice, and the +utter helplessness of Cornwallis, the entire inability of such a good +and gallant soldier even to struggle, are the most convincing proofs +of the military genius of his antagonist. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +PEACE + + +Fortitude in misfortune is more common than composure in the hour +of victory. The bitter medicine of defeat, however unpalatable, +is usually extremely sobering, but the strong new wine of success +generally sets the heads of poor humanity spinning, and leads often to +worse results than folly. The capture of Cornwallis was enough to have +turned the strongest head, for the moment at least, but it had no +apparent effect upon the man who had brought it to pass, and who, more +than any one else, knew what it meant. Unshaken and undismayed in the +New Jersey winter, and among the complicated miseries of Valley Forge, +Washington turned from the spectacle of a powerful British army laying +down their arms as coolly as if he had merely fought a successful +skirmish, or repelled a dangerous raid. He had that rare gift, the +attribute of the strongest minds, of leaving the past to take care of +itself. He never fretted over what could not be undone, nor dallied +among pleasant memories while aught still remained to do. He wrote to +Congress in words of quiet congratulation, through which pierced the +devout and solemn sense of the great deed accomplished, and then, +while the salvos of artillery were still booming in his ears, and the +shouts of victory were still rising about him, he set himself, after +his fashion, to care for the future and provide for the immediate +completion of his work. + +He wrote to De Grasse, urging him to join in an immediate movement +against Charleston, such as he had already suggested, and he presented +in the strongest terms the opportunities now offered for the sudden +and complete ending of the struggle. But the French admiral was by no +means imbued with the tireless and determined spirit of Washington. He +had had his fill even of victory, and was so eager to get back to the +West Indies, where he was to fall a victim to Rodney, that he would +not even transport troops to Wilmington. Thus deprived of the force +which alone made comprehensive and extended movements possible, +Washington returned, as he had done so often before, to making the +best of cramped circumstances and straitened means. He sent all the +troops he could spare to Greene, to help him in wresting the southern +States from the enemy, the work to which he had in vain summoned De +Grasse. This done, he prepared to go north. On his way he was stopped +at Eltham by the illness and death of his wife's son, John Custis, a +blow which he felt severely, and which saddened the great victory he +had just achieved. Still the business of the State could not wait on +private grief. He left the house of mourning, and, pausing for an +instant only at Mount Vernon, hastened on to Philadelphia. At the +very moment of victory, and while honorable members were shaking each +other's hands and congratulating each other that the war was now +really over, the commander-in-chief had fallen again to writing them +letters in the old strain, and was once more urging them to keep up +the army, while he himself gave his personal attention to securing a +naval force for the ensuing year, through the medium of Lafayette. +Nothing was ever finished with Washington until it was really complete +throughout, and he had as little time for rejoicing as he had for +despondency or despair, while a British force still remained in the +country. He probably felt that this was as untoward a time as he had +ever met in a pretty large experience of unsuitable occasions, for +offering sound advice, but he was not deterred thereby from doing it. +This time, however, he was destined to an agreeable disappointment, +for on his arrival at Philadelphia he found an excellent spirit +prevailing in Congress. That body was acting cheerfully on his advice, +it had filled the departments of the government, and set on foot such +measures as it could to keep up the army. So Washington remained for +some time at Philadelphia, helping and counseling Congress in its +work, and writing to the States vigorous letters, demanding pay and +clothing for the soldiers, ever uppermost in his thoughts. + +But although Congress was compliant, Washington could not convince +the country of the justice of his views, and of the continued need of +energetic exertion. The steady relaxation of tone, which the strain of +a long and trying war had produced, was accelerated by the brilliant +victory of Yorktown. Washington for his own part had but little trust +in the sense or the knowledge of his enemy. He felt that Yorktown was +decisive, but he also thought that Great Britain would still struggle +on, and that her talk of peace was very probably a mere blind, to +enable her to gain time, and, by taking advantage of our relaxed and +feeble condition, to strike again in hope of winning back all that had +been lost. He therefore continued his appeals in behalf of the +army, and reiterated everywhere the necessity for fresh and ample +preparations. + +As late as May 4 he wrote sharply to the States for men and money, +saying that the change of ministry was likely to be adverse to +peace, and that we were being lulled into a false and fatal sense of +security. A few days later, on receiving information from Sir Guy +Carleton of the address of the Commons to the king for peace, +Washington wrote to Congress: "For my own part, I view our situation +as such that, instead of relaxing, we ought to improve the present +moment as the most favorable to our wishes. The British nation +appear to me to be staggered, and almost ready to sink beneath the +accumulating weight of debt and misfortune. If we follow the blow with +vigor and energy, I think the game is our own." + +Again he wrote in July: "Sir Guy Carleton is using every art to +soothe and lull our people into a state of security. Admiral Digby +is capturing all our vessels, and suffocating as fast as possible in +prison-ships all our seamen who will not enlist into the service of +his Britannic Majesty; and Haldimand, with his savage allies, is +scalping and burning on the frontiers." Facts always were the object +of Washington's first regard, and while gentlemen on all sides were +talking of peace, war was going on, and he could not understand the +supineness which would permit our seamen to be suffocated, and our +borderers scalped, because some people thought the war ought to be and +practically was over. While the other side was fighting, he wished to +be fighting too. A month later he wrote to Greene: "From the former +infatuation, duplicity, and perverse system of British policy, I +confess I am induced to doubt everything, to suspect everything." He +could say heartily with the Trojan priest, "Quicquid id est timeo +Danaos et dona ferentes." Yet again, a month later still, when the +negotiations were really going forward in Paris, he wrote to McHenry: +"If we are wise, let us prepare for the worst. There is nothing which +will so soon produce a speedy and honorable peace as a state of +preparation for war; and we must either do this, or lay our account to +patch up an inglorious peace, after all the toil, blood, and treasure +we have spent." + +No man had done and given so much as Washington, and at the same +time no other man had his love of thoroughness, and his indomitable +fighting temper. He found few sympathizers, his words fell upon deaf +ears, and he was left to struggle on and maintain his ground as best +he might, without any substantial backing. As it turned out, England +was more severely wounded than he dared to hope, and her desire for +peace was real. But Washington's distrust and the active policy which +he urged were, in the conditions of the moment, perfectly sound, +both in a military and a political point of view. It made no real +difference, however, whether he was right or wrong in his opinion. +He could not get what he wanted, and he was obliged to drag through +another year, fettered in his military movements, and oppressed with +anxiety for the future. He longed to drive the British from New York, +and was forced to content himself, as so often before, with keeping +his army in existence. It was a trying time, and fruitful in nothing +but anxious forebodings. All the fighting was confined to skirmishes +of outposts, and his days were consumed in vain efforts to obtain help +from the States, while he watched with painful eagerness the current +of events in Europe, down which the fortunes of his country were +feebly drifting. + +Among the petty incidents of the year there was one which, in its +effects, gained an international importance, which has left a deep +stain upon the English arms, and which touched Washington deeply. +Captain Huddy, an American officer, was captured in a skirmish and +carried to New York, where he was placed in confinement. Thence he +was taken on April 12 by a party of Tories in the British service, +commanded by Captain Lippencott, and hanged in the broad light of day +on the heights near Middletown. Testimony and affidavits to the +fact, which was never questioned, were duly gathered and laid before +Washington. The deed was one of wanton barbarity, for which it would +be difficult to find a parallel in the annals of modern warfare. +The authors of this brutal murder, to our shame be it said, were of +American birth, but they were fighting for the crown and wore the +British uniform. England, which for generations has deafened the +world with paeans of praise for her own love of fair play and for +her generous humanity, stepped in here and threw the mantle of her +protection over these cowardly hangmen. It has not been uncommon for +wild North American savages to deliver up criminals to the vengeance +of the law, but English ministers and officers condoned the murder of +Huddy, and sheltered his murderers. + +When the case was laid before Washington it stirred him to the deepest +wrath. He submitted the facts to twenty-five of his general officers, +who unanimously advised what he was himself determined upon, instant +retaliation. He wrote at once to Sir Guy Carleton, and informed him +that unless the murderers were given up he should be compelled to +retaliate. Carleton replied that a court-martial was ordered, and some +attempt was made to recriminate; but Washington pressed on in the path +he had marked out, and had an English officer selected by lot and held +in close confinement to await the action of the enemy. These sharp +measures brought the British, as nothing else could have done, to some +sense of the enormity of the crime that had been committed. Sir Guy +Carleton wrote in remonstrance, and Washington replied: "Ever since +the commencement of this unnatural war my conduct has borne invariable +testimony against those inhuman excesses, which, in too many +instances, have marked its progress. With respect to a late +transaction, to which I presume your excellency alludes, I have +already expressed my resolution, a resolution formed on the most +mature deliberation, and from which I shall not recede." The +affair dragged along, purposely protracted by the British, and the +court-martial on a technical point acquitted Lippencott. Sir Guy +Carleton, however, who really was deeply indignant at the outrage, +wrote, expressing his abhorrence, disavowed Lippencott, and promised +a further inquiry. This placed Washington in a very trying position, +more especially as his humanity was touched by the situation of the +unlucky hostage. The fatal lot had fallen upon a mere boy, Captain +Asgill, who was both amiable and popular, and Washington was beset +with appeals in his behalf, for Lady Asgill moved heaven and earth to +save her son. She interested the French court, and Vergennes made a +special request that Asgill should be released. Even Washington's own +officers, notably Hamilton, sought to influence him, and begged him to +recede. In these difficult circumstances, which were enhanced by the +fact that contrary to his orders to select an unconditional prisoner, +the lot had fallen on a Yorktown prisoner protected by the terms +of the capitulation,[1] he hesitated, and asked instructions from +Congress. He wrote to Duane in September: "While retaliation was +apparently necessary, however disagreeable in itself, I had no +repugnance to the measure. But when the end proposed by it is answered +by a disavowal of the act, by a dissolution of the board of refugees, +and by a promise (whether with or without meaning to comply with it, I +shall not determine) that further inquisition should be made into the +matter, I thought it incumbent upon me, before I proceeded any farther +in the matter, to have the sense of Congress, who had most explicitly +approved and impliedly indeed ordered retaliation to take place. To +this hour I am held in darkness." + +[Footnote 1: MS, letter to Lincoln.] + +He did not long remain in doubt. The fact was that the public, as is +commonly the case, had forgotten the original crime and saw only the +misery of the man who was to pay the just penalty, and who was, in +this instance, an innocent and vicarious sufferer. It was difficult +to refuse Vergennes, and Congress, glad of the excuse and anxious to +oblige their allies, ordered the release of Asgill. That Washington, +touched by the unhappy condition of his prisoner, did not feel +relieved by the result, it would be absurd to suppose. But he was by +no means satisfied, for the murderous wrong that had been done rankled +in his breast. He wrote to Vergennes: "Captain Asgill has been +released, and is at perfect liberty to return to the arms of an +affectionate parent, whose pathetic address to your Excellency could +not fail of interesting every feeling heart in her behalf. I have no +right to assume any particular merit from the lenient manner in which +this disagreeable affair has terminated." + +There is a perfect honesty about this which is very wholesome. He had +been freely charged with cruelty, and had regarded the accusation with +indifference. Now, when it was easy for him to have taken the glory +of mercy by simply keeping silent, he took pains to avow that the +leniency was not due to him. He was not satisfied, and no one should +believe that he was, even if the admission seemed to justify the +charge of cruelty. If he erred at all it was in not executing some +British officer at the very start, unless Lippencott had been given up +within a limited time. As it was, after delay was once permitted, it +is hard to see how he could have acted otherwise than he did, but +Washington was not in the habit of receding from a fixed purpose, and +being obliged to do so in this case troubled him, for he knew that he +did well to be angry. But the frankness of the avowal to Vergennes is +a good example of his entire honesty and absolute moral fearlessness. + +The matter, however, which most filled his heart and mind during these +weary days of waiting and doubt was the condition and the future of +his soldiers. To those persons who have suspected or suggested that +Washington was cold-blooded and unmindful of others, the letters he +wrote in regard to the soldiers may be commended. The man whose heart +was wrung by the sufferings of the poor people on the Virginian +frontier, in the days of the old French war, never in fact changed +his nature. Fierce in fight, passionate and hot when his anger was +stirred, his love and sympathy were keen and strong toward his army. +His heart went out to the brave men who had followed him, loved him, +and never swerved in their loyalty to him and to their country. +Washington's affection for his men, and their devotion to him, had +saved the cause of American independence more often than strategy or +daring. Now, when the war was practically over, his influence with +both officers and soldiers was destined to be put to its severest +tests. + +The people of the American colonies were self-governing in the +extremest sense, that is, they were accustomed to very little +government interference of any sort. They were also poor and entirely +unused to war. Suddenly they found themselves plunged into a bitter +and protracted conflict with the most powerful of civilized nations. +In the first flush of excitement, patriotic enthusiasm supplied many +defects; but as time wore on, and year after year passed, and the +whole social and political fabric was shaken, the moral tone of the +people relaxed. In such a struggle, coming upon an unprepared people +of the habits and in the circumstances of the colonists, this +relaxation was inevitable. It was likewise inevitable that, as the war +continued, there should be in both national and state governments, and +in all directions, many shortcomings and many lamentable errors. But +for the treatment accorded the army, no such excuse can be made, and +no sufficient explanation can be offered. There was throughout the +colonies an inborn and a carefully cultivated dread of standing armies +and military power. But this very natural feeling was turned most +unreasonably against our own army, and carried in that direction to +the verge of insanity. This jealousy of military power indeed pursued +Washington from the beginning to the end of the Revolution. It cropped +out as soon as he was appointed, and came up in one form or another +whenever he was obliged to take strong measures. Even at the very end, +after he had borne the cause through to triumph, Congress was driven +almost to frenzy because Vergennes proposed to commit the disposition +of a French subsidy to the commander-in-chief. + +If this feeling could show itself toward Washington, it is easy to +imagine that it was not restrained toward his officers and men, and +the treatment of the soldiers by Congress and by the States was not +only ungrateful to the last degree, but was utterly unpardonable. +Again and again the menace of immediate ruin and the stern demands of +Washington alone extorted the most grudging concessions, and saved the +army from dissolution. The soldiers had every reason to think that +nothing but personal fear could obtain the barest consideration from +the civil power. In this frame of mind, they saw the war which they +had fought and won drawing to a close with no prospect of either +provision or reward for them, and every indication that they would be +disbanded when they were no longer needed, and left in many cases +to beggary and want. In the inaction consequent upon the victory at +Yorktown, they had ample time to reflect upon these facts, and their +reflections were of such a nature that the situation soon became +dangerous. Washington, who had struggled in season and out of season +for justice to the soldiers, labored more zealously than ever during +all this period, aided vigorously by Hamilton, who was now in +Congress. Still nothing was done, and in October, 1782, he wrote to +the Secretary of War in words warm with indignant feeling: "While I +premise that no one I have seen or heard of appears opposed to the +principle of reducing the army as circumstances may require, yet I +cannot help fearing the result of the measure in contemplation, under +present circumstances, when I see such a number of men, goaded by a +thousand stings of reflection on the past and of anticipation on the +future, about to be turned into the world, soured by penury and what +they call the ingratitude of the public, involved in debts, without +one farthing of money to carry them home after having spent the flower +of their days, and many of them their patrimonies, in establishing the +freedom and independence of their country, and suffered everything +that human nature is capable of enduring on this side of death.... You +may rely upon it, the patriotism and long-suffering of this army +are almost exhausted, and that there never was so great a spirit of +discontent as at this instant. While in the field I think it may be +kept from breaking into acts of outrage; but when we retire into +winter-quarters, unless the storm is previously dissipated, I cannot +be at ease respecting the consequences. It is high time for a peace." + +These were grave words, coming from such a man as Washington, but they +passed unheeded. Congress and the States went blandly along as if +everything was all right, and as if the army had no grievances. But +the soldiers thought differently. "Dissatisfactions rose to a great +and alarming height, and combinations among officers to resign at +given periods in a body were beginning to take place." The outlook +was so threatening that Washington, who had intended to go to Mount +Vernon, remained in camp, and by management and tact thwarted these +combinations and converted these dangerous movements into an address +to Congress from the officers, asking for half-pay, arrearages, and +some other equally proper concessions. Still Congress did not stir. +Some indefinite resolutions were passed, but nothing was done as to +the commutation of half-pay into a fixed sum, and after such a display +of indifference the dissatisfaction increased rapidly, and the army +became more and more restless. In March a call was issued for a +meeting of officers, and an anonymous address, written with +much skill,--the work, as afterwards appeared, of Major John +Armstrong,--was published at the same time. The address was well +calculated to inflame the passions of the troops; it advised a resort +to force, and was scattered broadcast through the camp. The army was +now in a ferment, and the situation was full of peril. A weak man +would have held his peace; a rash one would have tried to suppress the +meeting. Washington did neither, but quietly took control of the whole +movement himself. In general orders he censured the call and the +address as irregular, and then appointed a time and place for the +meeting. Another anonymous address thereupon appeared, quieter in +tone, but congratulating the army on the recognition accorded by the +commander-in-chief. + +When the officers assembled, Washington arose with a manuscript in +his hand, and as he took out his glasses said, simply, "You see, +gentlemen, I have grown both blind and gray in your service." His +address was brief, calm, and strong. The clear, vigorous sentences +were charged with meaning and with deep feeling. He exhorted them one +and all, both officers and men, to remain loyal and obedient, true +to their glorious past and to their country. He appealed to their +patriotism, and promised them that which they had always had, his +own earnest support in obtaining justice from Congress. When he had +finished he quietly withdrew. The officers were deeply moved by +his words, and his influence prevailed. Resolutions were passed, +reiterating the demands of the army, but professing entire faith in +the government. This time Congress listened, and the measures granting +half-pay in commutation and certain other requests were passed. Thus +this very serious danger was averted, not by the reluctant action of +Congress, but by the wisdom and strength of the general, who was loved +by his soldiers after a fashion that few conquerors could boast. + +Underlying all these general discontents, there was, besides, a +well-defined movement, which saw a solution of all difficulties and a +redress of all wrongs in a radical change of the form of government, +and in the elevation of Washington to supreme power. This party was +satisfied that the existing system was a failure, and that it was +not and could not be made either strong, honest, or respectable. The +obvious relief was in some kind of monarchy, with a large infusion of +the one-man power; and it followed, as a matter of course, that the +one man could be no other than the commander-in-chief. In May, 1782, +when the feeling in the army had risen very high, this party of reform +brought their ideas before Washington through an old and respected +friend of his, Colonel Nicola. The colonel set forth very clearly the +failure and shortcomings of the existing government, argued in favor +of the substitution of something much stronger, and wound up by +hinting very plainly that his correspondent was the man for the crisis +and the proper savior of society. The letter was forcible and well +written, and Colonel Nicola was a man of character and standing. It +could not be passed over lightly or in silence, and Washington replied +as follows:-- + +"With a mixture of surprise and astonishment, I have read with +attention the sentiments you have submitted to my perusal. Be assured, +sir, no occurrence in the course of the war has given me more painful +sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing +in the army as you have expressed, and [which] I must view with +abhorrence and reprehend with severity. For the present, the +communication of them will rest in my own bosom, unless some further +agitation of the matter shall make a disclosure necessary. I am +much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given +encouragement to an address which seems to me big with the greatest +mischiefs that can befall my country. If I am not deceived in the +knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your +schemes are more disagreeable. At the same time, in justice to my own +feelings, I must add that no man possesses a more sincere wish to +see justice done to the army than I do; and as far as my power and +influence in a constitutional way extend, they shall be employed to +the utmost of my abilities to effect it, should there be any occasion. +Let me conjure you, then, if you have any regard for your country, +concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these +thoughts from your mind, and never communicate, as from yourself or +any one else, a sentiment of the like nature." + +This simple but exceedingly plain letter checked the whole movement +at once; but the feeling of hostility to the existing system of +government and of confidence in Washington increased steadily through +the summer and winter. When the next spring had come round, and the +"Newburgh addresses" had been published, the excitement was at fever +heat. All the army needed was a leader. It was as easy for Washington +to have grasped supreme power then, as it would have been for Caesar +to have taken the crown from Antony upon the Lupercal. He repelled +Nicola's suggestion with quiet reproof, and took the actual movement, +when it reared its head, into his own hands and turned it into other +channels. This incident has been passed over altogether too carelessly +by historians and biographers. It has generally been used merely to +show the general nobility of Washington's sentiments, and no proper +stress has been laid upon the facts of the time which gave birth to +such an idea and such a proposition. It would have been a perfectly +feasible thing at that particular moment to have altered the frame of +government and placed the successful soldier in possession of supreme +power. The notion of kingly government was, of course, entirely +familiar to everybody, and had in itself nothing repulsive. The +confederation was disintegrated, the States were demoralized, and the +whole social and political life was weakened. The army was the one +coherent, active, and thoroughly organized body in the country. Six +years of war had turned them from militia into seasoned veterans, and +they stood armed and angry, ready to respond to the call of the great +leader to whom they were entirely devoted. When the English troops +were once withdrawn, there was nothing on the continent that could +have stood against them. If they had moved, they would have been +everywhere supported by their old comrades who had returned to the +ranks of civil life, by all the large class who wanted peace and order +in the quickest and surest way, and by the timid and tired generally. +There would have been in fact no serious opposition, probably because +there would have been no means of sustaining it. + +The absolute feebleness of the general government was shown a few +weeks later, when a recently recruited regiment of Pennsylvania troops +mutinied, and obliged Congress to leave Philadelphia, unable either to +defend themselves or procure defense from the State. This mutiny was +put down suddenly and effectively by Washington, very wroth at the +insubordination of raw troops, who had neither fought nor suffered. +Yet even such mutineers as these would have succeeded in a large +measure, had it not been for Washington, and one can easily imagine +from this incident the result of disciplined and well-planned action +on the part of the army led by their great chief. In that hour of +debility and relaxation, a military seizure of the government and +the erection of some form of monarchy would not have been difficult. +Whether such a change would have lasted is another question, but there +is no reason to doubt that at the moment it might have been effected. +Washington, however, not only refused to have anything to do with the +scheme, but he used the personal loyalty which might have raised him +to supreme power to check all dangerous movements and put in motion +the splendid and unselfish patriotism for which the army was +conspicuous, and which underlay all their irritations and discontents. + +The obvious view of Washington's action in this crisis as a remarkable +exhibition of patriotism is at best somewhat superficial. In a man in +any way less great, the letter of refusal to Nicola and the treatment +of the opportunity presented at the time of the Newburgh addresses +would have been fine in a high degree. In Washington they were not so +extraordinary, for the situation offered him no temptation. Carlyle +was led to think slightingly of Washington, one may believe, because +he did not seize the tottering government with a strong hand, and +bring order out of chaos on the instant. But this is a woeful +misunderstanding of the man. To put aside a crown for love of country +is noble, but to look down upon such an opportunity indicates a much +greater loftiness and strength of mind. Washington was wholly free +from the vulgar ambition of the usurper, and the desire of mere +personal aggrandizement found no place in his nature. His ruling +passion was the passion for success, and for thorough and complete +success. What he could not bear was the least shadow of failure. To +have fought such a war to a victorious finish, and then turned it to +his own advantage, would have been to him failure of the meanest +kind. He fought to free the colonies from England, and make them +independent, not to play the part of a Caesar or a Cromwell in the +wreck and confusion of civil war. He flung aside the suggestion of +supreme power, not simply as dishonorable and unpatriotic, but because +such a result would have defeated the one great and noble object +at which he aimed. Nor did he act in this way through any indolent +shrinking from the great task of making what he had won worth winning, +by crushing the forces of anarchy and separation, and bringing order +and unity out of confusion. From the surrender of Yorktown to the +day of his retirement from the Presidency, he worked unceasingly to +establish union and strong government in the country he had made +independent. He accomplished this great labor more successfully +by honest and lawful methods than if he had taken the path of the +strong-handed savior of society, and his work in this field did more +for the welfare of his country than all his battles. To have restored +order at the head of the army was much easier than to effect it in the +slow and law-abiding fashion which he adopted. To have refused supreme +rule, and then to have effected in the spirit and under the forms +of free government all and more than the most brilliant of military +chiefs could have achieved by absolute power, is a glory which belongs +to Washington alone. + +Nevertheless, at that particular juncture it was, as he himself had +said, "high time for a peace." The danger at Newburgh had been averted +by his commanding influence and the patriotic conduct of the army. But +it had been averted only, not removed. The snake was scotched, not +killed. The finishing stroke was still needed in the form of an end to +hostilities, and it was therefore fortunate for the United States that +a fortnight later, on March 23, news came that a general treaty +of peace had been signed. This final consummation of his work, in +addition to the passage by Congress of the half-pay commutation and +the settlement of the army accounts, filled Washington with deep +rejoicing. He felt that in a short time, a few weeks at most, he would +be free to withdraw to the quiet life at Mount Vernon for which he +longed. But public bodies move slowly, and one delay after another +occurred to keep him still in the harness. He chafed under the +postponement, but it was not possible to him to remain idle even when +he awaited in almost daily expectation the hour of dismissal. He saw +with the instinctive glance of statesmanship that the dangerous point +in the treaty of peace was in the provisions as to the western posts +on the one side, and those relating to British debts on the other. A +month therefore had not passed before he brought to the attention +of Congress the importance of getting immediate possession of those +posts, and a little later he succeeded in having Steuben sent out as a +special envoy to obtain their surrender. The mission was vain, as he +had feared. He was not destined to extract this thorn for many years, +and then only after many trials and troubles. Soon afterward he made a +journey with Governor Clinton to Ticonderoga, and along the valley of +the Mohawk, "to wear away the time," as he wrote to Congress. He wore +away time to more purpose than most people, for where he traveled he +observed closely, and his observations were lessons which he never +forgot. On this trip he had the western posts and the Indians always +in mind, and familiarized himself with the conditions of a part of the +country where these matters were of great importance. + +On his return he went to Princeton, where Congress had been sitting +since their flight from the mutiny which he had recently suppressed, +and where a house had been provided for his use. He remained there two +months, aiding Congress in their work. During the spring he had been +engaged on the matter of a peace establishment, and he now gave +Congress elaborate and well-matured advice on that question, and on +those of public lands, western settlement, and the best Indian policy. +In all these directions his views were clear, far-sighted, and wise. +He saw that in these questions was involved much of the future +development and wellbeing of the country, and he treated them with a +precision and an easy mastery which showed the thought he had given to +the new problems which now were coming to the front. Unluckily, he was +so far ahead, both in knowledge and perception, of the body with which +he dealt, that he could get little or nothing done, and in September +he wrote in plain but guarded terms of the incapacity of the +lawmakers. The people were not yet ripe for his measures, and he was +forced to bide his time, and see the injuries caused by indifference +and short-sightedness work themselves out. Gradually, however, the +absolutely necessary business was brought to an end. Then Washington +issued a circular letter to the governors of the States, which was +one of the ablest he ever wrote, and full of the profoundest +statesmanship, and he also sent out a touching address of farewell to +the army, eloquent with wisdom and with patriotism. + +From Princeton he went to West Point, where the army that still +remained in service was stationed. Thence he moved to Harlem, and +on November 25 the British army departed, and Washington, with his +troops, accompanied by Governor Clinton and some regiments of local +militia, marched in and took possession. This was the outward sign +that the war was over, and that American independence had been won. +Carleton feared that the entry of the American army might be the +signal for confusion and violence, in which the Tory inhabitants would +suffer; but everything passed off with perfect tranquillity and good +order, and in the evening Governor Clinton gave a public dinner to the +commander-in-chief and the officers of the army. + +All was now over, and Washington prepared to go to Annapolis and lay +down his commission. On December 4 his officers assembled in Fraunces' +Tavern to bid him farewell. As he looked about on his faithful +friends, his usual self-command deserted him, and he could not control +his voice. Taking a glass of wine, he lifted it up, and said simply, +"With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take my leave of you, +most devoutly wishing that your latter days may be as prosperous and +happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." The toast +was drunk in silence, and then Washington added, "I cannot come to +each of you and take my leave, but shall be obliged if you will come +and take me by the hand." One by one they approached, and Washington +grasped the hand of each man and embraced him. His eyes were full of +tears, and he could not trust himself to speak. In silence he bade +each and all farewell, and then, accompanied by his officers, walked +to Whitehall Ferry. Entering his barge, the word was given, and as +the oars struck the water he stood up and lifted his hat. In solemn +silence his officers returned the salute, and watched the noble and +gracious figure of their beloved chief until the boat disappeared from +sight behind the point of the Battery. + +At Philadelphia he stopped a few days and adjusted his accounts, which +he had in characteristic fashion kept himself in the neatest and most +methodical way. He had drawn no pay, and had expended considerable +sums from his private fortune, which he had omitted to charge to the +government. The gross amount of his expenses was about 15,000 pounds +sterling, including secret service and other incidental outlays. In +these days of wild money-hunting, there is something worth pondering +in this simple business settlement between a great general and his +government, at the close of eight years of war. This done, he started +again on his journey. From Philadelphia he proceeded to Annapolis, +greeted with addresses and hailed with shouts at every town and +village on his route, and having reached his destination, he addressed +a letter to Congress on December 20, asking when it would be agreeable +to them to receive him. The 23d was appointed, and on that day, at +noon, he appeared before Congress. + +The following year a French orator and "maitre avocat," in an oration +delivered at Toulouse upon the American Revolution, described this +scene in these words: "On the day when Washington resigned his +commission in the hall of Congress, a crown decked with jewels was +placed upon the Book of the Constitutions. Suddenly Washington seizes +it, breaks it, and flings the pieces to the assembled people. How +small ambitious Caesar seems beside the hero of America." It is worth +while to recall this contemporary French description, because its +theatrical and dramatic untruth gives such point by contrast to the +plain and dignified reality. The scene was the hall of Congress. The +members representing the sovereign power were seated and covered, +while all the space about was filled by the governor and state +officers of Maryland, by military officers, and by the ladies and +gentlemen of the neighborhood, who stood in respectful silence with +uncovered heads. Washington was introduced by the Secretary of +Congress, and took a chair which had been assigned to him. There was +a brief pause, and then the president said that "the United States +in Congress assembled were prepared to receive his communication." +Washington rose, and replied as follows:-- + +"Mr. President: The great events, on which my resignation depended, +having at length taken place, I have now the honor of offering my +sincere congratulations to Congress, and of presenting myself before +them, to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to +claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my country. + +"Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and +pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming +a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I +accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish +so arduous a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in +the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the +Union, and the patronage of Heaven. The successful termination of the +war has verified the most sanguine expectations; and my gratitude for +the interposition of Providence, and the assistance I have received +from my countrymen, increases with every review of the momentous +contest." Then, after a word of gratitude to the army and to his +staff, he concluded as follows: "I consider it an indispensable duty +to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the +interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, +and those who have the superintendence of them to his holy keeping. + +"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great +theatre of action; and bidding an affectionate farewell to this +august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my +commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life." + +In singularly graceful and eloquent words his old opponent, Thomas +Mifflin, the president, replied, the simple ceremony ended, and +Washington left the room a private citizen. + +The great master of English fiction, touching this scene with skillful +hand, has said: "Which was the most splendid spectacle ever witnessed, +the opening feast of Prince George in London, or the resignation +of Washington? Which is the noble character for after ages to +admire,--yon fribble dancing in lace and spangles, or yonder hero +who sheathes his sword after a life of spotless honor, a purity +unreproached, a courage indomitable, and a consummate victory?" + +There is no need to say more. Comment or criticism on such a farewell, +from such a man, at the close of a long civil war, would be not only +superfluous but impertinent. The contemporary newspaper, in its meagre +account, said that the occasion was deeply solemn and affecting, and +that many persons shed tears. Well indeed might those then present +have been thus affected, for they had witnessed a scene memorable +forever in the annals of all that is best and noblest in human nature. +They had listened to a speech which was not equaled in meaning and +spirit in American history until, eighty years later, Abraham Lincoln +stood upon the slopes of Gettysburg and uttered his immortal words +upon those who died that the country might live. + + + + +INDEX for Volumes I & II + + + ACKERSON, DAVID, + describes Washington's personal appearance, ii. 386-388. + + Adams, Abigail, + on Washington's appearance in 1775, i. 137. + + Adams, John, + moves appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief, i. 134; + on political necessity for his appointment, 135; + and objections to it, 135; + statement as to Washington's difficulties, 163; + over-sanguine as to American prospects, 171; + finds fault with Washington, 214, 215; + one of few national statesmen, 252; + on Washington's opinion of titles, ii. 52; + advocates ceremony, 54; + returns to United States, 137; + attacked by Jefferson as a monarchist, 226; + praised by Democrats as superior to Washington, 251; + his administration upheld by Washington, 259; + advised by Washington, 260; + his inauguration, 276; + sends special mission to France, 284; + urges Washington to take command of provisional army, 285; + wishes to make Knox senior to Hamilton, 286; + censured by Washington, gives way, 287; + lack of sympathy with Washington, 287; + his nomination of Murray disapproved by Washington, 292, 293; + letter of Washington to, on immigration, 326. + + Adams, J.Q., + on weights and measures, ii. 81. + + Adams, Samuel, + not sympathized with by Washington in working for independence, i. 131; + his inability to sympathize with Washington, 204; + an enemy of Constitution, ii. 71; + a genuine American, 309. + + Alcudia, Duke de, + interviews with Pinckney, ii. 166. + + Alexander, Philip, + hunts with Washington, i. 115. + + Alien and Sedition Laws, + approved by Washington and Federalists, ii. 290, 297. + + Ames, Fisher, + speech on behalf of administration in Jay treaty affair, ii. 210. + + Andre, Major, + meets Arnold, i. 282; + announces capture to Arnold, 284; + confesses, 284; + condemned and executed, 287; + justice of the sentence, 287, 288; + Washington's opinion of, 288, ii. 357. + + Armstrong, John, Major, + writes Newburg address, i. 335. + + Army of the Revolution, + at Boston, adopted by Congress, i. 134; + its organization and character, 136-143; + sectional jealousies in, at New York, 162; + goes to pieces after defeat, 167, 175, 176; + condition in winter of 1777, 186; + difficulties between officers, 189; + with foreign officers, 190-192; + improvement as shown by condition after Brandywine and Germantown, + 200, 201; + hard winter at Valley Forge, 228; + maintained alive only by Washington, 227, 228, 232; + improved morale at Monmouth, 239; + mutinies for lack of pay, 258; + suffers during 1779, 270; + bad condition in 1780, 279; + again mutinies for pay, 291, 292, 295; + conduct of troops, 292, 293; + jealousy of people towards, 332; + badly treated by States and by Congress, 333; + grows mutinous, 334; + adopts Newburg addresses, 335, 336; + ready for a military dictatorship, 338, 340; + farewell of Washington to, 345. + + Arnold, Benedict, + sent by Washington to attack Quebec, i. 144; + sent against Burgoyne, 210; + plans treason, 281; + shows loyalist letter to Washington, 282; + meets Andre, 282; + receives news of Andre's capture, 284; + escapes, 284, 285; + previous benefits from Washington, 286; + Washington's opinion of, 288; + ravages Virginia, 303; + sent back to New York, 303; + one of the few men who deceived Washington, ii. 336. + + Arnold, Mrs., + entertains Washington at time of her husband's treachery, i. 284, 285. + + Articles of Confederation, + their inadequacy early seen by Washington, i. 297, 298; ii. 17. + + Asgill, Capt., + selected for retaliation for murder of Huddy, i. 328; + efforts for his release, 329; + release ordered by Congress, 330. + + + BACHE, B.F., + publishes Jay treaty in "Aurora," ii. 185; + joins in attack on Washington, 238, 244; + rejoices over his retirement, 256. + + Baker,----, + works out a pedigree for Washington, i. 31. + + Ball, Joseph, + advises against sending Washington to sea, i. 49, 50. + + Barbadoes, + Washington's description of, i. 64. + + Beckley, John, + accuses Washington of embezzling, ii. 245. + + Bernard, John, + his conversation with Washington referred to, i. 58, 107; + describes encounter with Washington, ii. 281-283; + his description of Washington's conversation, 343-348. + + Blackwell, Rev. Dr., + calls on Washington with Dr. Logan, ii. 264. + + Blair, John, + appointed to Supreme Court, ii. 73. + + Bland, Mary, + "Lowland Beauty," admired by Washington, i. 95, 96. + + Blount, Governor, + pacifies Cherokees, ii. 94. + + Boston, + visit of Washington to, i. 97, 99; + political troubles in, 120; + British measures against condemned by Virginia, 122, 123; + appeals to colonies, 124; + protests against Jay treaty, ii. 186; + answered by Washington, 190. + + Botetourt, Lord, Governor of Virginia, + quarrels with Assembly, i. 121; + manages to calm dissension, 122; + on friendly terms with Washington, 122. + + Braddock, General Edward, + arrives in Virginia, i. 82; + invites Washington to serve on his staff, 82; + respects him, 83; + his character and unfitness for his position, 83; + despises provincials, 83; + accepts Washington's advice as to dividing force, 84; + rebukes Washington for warning against ambush, 85; + insists on fighting by rule, 85; + defeated and mortally wounded, 85; + death and burial, 87. + + Bradford, William, + succeeds Randolph, ii. 246. + + Brandywine, + battle of, i. 196-198. + + Bunker Hill, + question of Washington regarding battle of, i. 136. + + Burgoyne, General John, + junction of Howe with, feared by Washington, i. 194, 195, 205, 206; + significance of his defeat, 202; + danger of his invasion foreseen by Washington, 203-206; + captures Ticonderoga, 207; + outnumbered and defeated, 210; + surrenders, 211. + + Burke, Edmund, + understands significance of Washington's leadership, i. 202; + unsettled by French Revolution, ii. 294. + + + CABOT, GEORGE, + entertains Lafayette's son, ii. 366. + + Cadwalader, General, + fails to cross Delaware to help Washington, i. 180; + duel with Conway, 226. + + Calvert, Eleanor, + misgivings of Washington over her marriage to John Custis, i. 111. + + Camden, battle of, i. 281. + + Canada, + captured by Wolfe, i. 94; + expedition of Montgomery against, 143, 144; + project of Conway cabal against, 222; 253; + project of Lafayette to attack, 254; + plan considered dangerous by Washington, 254, 255; + not undertaken by France, 256. + + Carleton, Sir Guy, + informs Washington of address of Commons for peace, i. 324; + suspected by Washington, 325; + remonstrates against retaliation by Washington for murder of + Huddy, 328; + disavows Lippencott, 328; + fears plunder of New York city, 345; + urges Indians to attack the United States, ii. 102, 175. + + Carlisle, Earl of, + peace commissioner, i. 233. + + Carlyle, Thomas, + sneers at Washington, i. 4, 14; + calls him "a bloodless Cromwell," i. 69, ii. 332; + fails to understand his reticence, i. 70; + despises him for not seizing power, 341. + + Carmichael, William, + minister at Madrid, ii. 165; + on commission regarding the Mississippi, 166. + + Carrington, Paul, + letter of Washington to, ii. 208; + Washington's friendship for, 363. + + Cary, Mary, + early love affair of Washington with, i. 96. + + Chamberlayne, Major, + entertains Washington at Williams' Ferry, i. 101. + + Charleston, + siege and capture of, i. 273, 274, 276. + + Chastellux, Marquis de, + Washington's friendship for and letter to, ii. 351; + on Washington's training of horses, 380. + + Cherokees, + beaten by Sevier, ii. 89; + pacified by Blount, 94,101. + + Chester, Colonel, + researches on Washington pedigree, i. 31. + + Chickasaws, + desert from St. Clair, ii. 96. + + China, + honors Washington, i. 6. + + Choctaws, + peaceable in 1788, ii. 89. + + Cincinnati, Society of the, + Washington's connection with, ii. 4. + + Clarke, Governor, + thinks Washington is invading popular rights, i. 215. + + Cleaveland, Rev.----, + complimented by Washington, ii. 359. + + Clinton, George, + appealed to by Washington to attack Burgoyne, i. 210; + journey with Washington to Ticonderoga, 343; + enters New York city, 345; + letter of Washington to, ii. 1; + meets Washington on journey to inauguration, 45; + opponent of the Constitution, 71; + orders seizure of French privateers, 153. + + Clinton, Sir Henry, + fails to help Burgoyne, i. 210; + replaces Howe at Philadelphia, his character, 232; + tries to cut off Lafayette, 233; + leaves Philadelphia, 234; + defeats Lee at Monmouth, 236; + retreats to New York, 238; + withdraws from Newport, 248; + makes a raid, 265; + fortifies Stony Point, 268; + his aimless warfare, 269, 270; + after capturing Charleston returns to New York, 276; + tries to save Andre, 287; + alarmed at attacks on New York, 306; + jealous of Cornwallis, refuses to send reinforcements, 308; + deceived by Washington, 311; + sends Graves to relieve Cornwallis, 312. + + Congress, Continental, + Washington's journey to, i. 128; + its character and ability, 129; + its state papers, 129; + adjourns, 132; + in second session, resolves to petition the king, 133; + adopts Massachusetts army and makes Washington commander, 134; + reasons for his choice, 135; + adheres to short-term enlistments, 149; + influenced to declare independence by Washington, 160; + hampers Washington in campaign of New York, 167; + letters of Washington to, 170, 179, 212, 225, 229, 266, 278, 295, + 321, 323, 333; + takes steps to make army permanent, 171; + its over-confidence, 171; + insists on holding Forts Washington and Lee, 174; + dissatisfied with Washington's inactivity, 187; + criticises his proclamation requiring oath of allegiance, 189; + makes unwise appointments of officers, 189; + especially of foreigners, 190-192; 248, 249; + applauds Washington's efforts at Germantown, 200; + deposes Schuyler and St. Clair, 208; + appoints Gates, 210; + irritation against Washington, 212-215; + falls under guidance of Conway cabal, 221, 222; + discovers incompetence of cabal, 223; + meddles with prisoners and officers, 231; + rejects English peace offers, 233; + makes alliance with France, 241; + suppresses protests of officers against D'Estaing, 244; + decline in its character, 257; + becomes feeble, 258; + improvement urged by Washington, 259, 266; + appoints Gates to command in South, 268; + loses interest in war, 278; + asks Washington to name general for the South, 295; + considers reduction of army, 313; + elated by Yorktown, 323; + its unfair treatment of army, 333, 335; + driven from Philadelphia by Pennsylvania troops, 340; + passes half-pay act, 342; + receives commission of Washington, 347-349; + disbands army, ii. 6; + indifferent to Western expansion, 15; + continues to decline, 22; + merit of its Indian policy, 88. + + Congress, Federal, + establishes departments, ii. 64; + opened by Washington, 78, 79; + ceremonial abolished by Jefferson, 79; + recommendations made to by Washington, 81-83; + acts upon them, 81-83; + creates commission to treat with Creeks, 90; + increases army, 94, 99; + fails to solve financial problems, 106; + debates Hamilton's report on credit, 107, 108; + establishes national bank, 109; + establishes protective revenue duties, 113; + imposes an excise tax, 123; + prepares for retaliation on Great Britain, 176; + Senate ratifies Jay treaty conditionally, 184; + House demands papers, 207; + debates over its right to concur in treaty, 208-210; + refuses to adjourn on Washington's birthday, 247; + prepares for war with France, 285; + passes Alien and Sedition Laws, 296. + + Constitution, Federal, + necessity of, foreseen by Washington, ii. 17-18, 23, 24; + the Annapolis Convention, 23-29; + the Federal Convention, 30-36; + Washington's attitude in, 31,34; + his influence, 36; + campaign for ratification, 38-41. + + Contrecoeur, Captain, + leader of French and Indians in Virginia, i. 75. + + "Conway cabal," + elements of in Congress, i. 214, 215; + in the army, 215; + organized by Conway, 217; + discovered by Washington, 220; + gets control of Board of War, 221; + tries to make Washington resign, 222, 224; + fails to invade Canada or provide supplies, 222, 223; + harassed by Washington's letters, 223,226; + breaks down, 226. + + Conway, Moncure D., + his life of Randolph, ii. 65, note, 196; + his defense of Randolph in Fauchet letter affair, 196; + on Washington's motives, 200; + on his unfair treatment of Randolph, 201, 202. + + Conway, Thomas, + demand for higher rank refused by Washington, i. 216; + plots against him, 217; + his letter discovered by Washington, 221; + made inspector-general, 221, 222; + complains to Congress of his reception at camp, 225; + resigns, has duel with Cadwalader, 226; + apologizes to Washington and leaves country, 226. + + Cooke, Governor, + remonstrated with by Washington for raising state troops, i. 186. + + Cornwallis, Lord, + pursues Washington in New Jersey, i. 175; + repulsed at Assunpink, 181; + outgeneraled by Washington, 182; + surprises Sullivan at Brandywine, 197; + defeats Lee at Monmouth, 236; + pursues Greene in vain, 302; + wins battle of Guilford Court House, 302; + retreats into Virginia, 302; + joins British troops in Virginia, 303; + his dangerous position, 304; + urged by Clinton to return troops to New York, 306; + plunders Virginia, 307; + defeats Lafayette and Wayne, 307; + wishes to retreat South, 307; + ordered by ministry to stay on the Chesapeake, 307; + abandoned by Clinton, 308; + establishes himself at Yorktown, 308; + withdraws into town, 315; + besieged, 316, 317; + surrenders, 317; + outgeneraled by Washington, 319, 320. + + Cowpens, + battle of, i. 301. + + Craik, Dr., + attends Washington in last illness, ii. 300-302; + Washington's friendship with, 363. + + Creeks, + their relations with Spaniards, ii. 89, 90; + quarrel with Georgia, 90; + agree to treaty with United States, 91; + stirred up by Spain, 101. + + Curwen, Samuel, + on Washington's appearance, i. 137. + + Cushing, Caleb, + appointed to Supreme Court, ii. 72. + + Custis, Daniel Parke, + first husband of Martha Washington, i. 101. + + Custis, G.W.P., + tells mythical story of Washington and the colt, i. 45; + Washington's care for, ii. 369. + + Custis, John, + Washington's tenderness toward, i. 111; + care for his education and marriage, 111; + hunts with Washington, 141; + death of, 322. + + Custis, Nellie, + marriage with Washington's nephew, ii. 281, 369; + letter of Washington to, 377. + + + DAGWORTHY, CAPTAIN, + claims to outrank Washington in Virginia army, i. 91, 97. + + Dallas, Alexander, + protests to Genet against sailing of Little Sarah, ii. 155. + + Dalton, Senator, + entertains Washington at Newburyport, ii. 359. + + Deane, Silas, + promises commissions to foreign military adventurers, i. 190. + + De Barras, + jealous of De Grasse, decides not to aid him, i. 310; + persuaded to do so by Washington and Rochambeau, 311; + reaches Chesapeake, 312. + + De Grasse, Comte, + announces intention of coming to Washington, i. 305; + warned by Washington not to come to New York, 305; + sails to Chesapeake, 306; + asked to meet Washington there, 308; + reaches Chesapeake, 312; + repulses British fleet, 312; + wishes to return to West Indies, 315; + persuaded to remain by Washington, 315; + refuses to join Washington in attack on Charleston, 322; + returns to West Indies, 322. + + De Guichen,----, + commander of French fleet in West Indies, i. 280; + appealed to for aid by Washington, 281; + returns home, 282. + + Delancey, Oliver, + escapes American attack, i. 306. + + Democratic party, + its formation as a French party, ii. 225; + furnished with catch-words by Jefferson, 226; + with a newspaper organ, 227; + not ready to oppose Washington for president in 1792, 235; + organized against treasury measure, 236; + stimulated by French Revolution, 238; + supports Genet, 237; + begins to attack Washington, 238; + his opinion of it, 239, 240, 258, 261, 267, 268; + forms clubs on French model, 241; + Washington's opinion of, 242, 243; + continues to abuse him, 244, 245, 250, 252; + exults at his retirement, 256; + prints slanders, 257. + + Demont, William, + betrays plans of Fort Washington to Howe, i. 175. + + D'Estaing, Admiral, + reaches America, i. 242; + welcomed by Washington, 243; + fails to cut off Howe and goes to Newport, 243; + after battle with Howe goes to Boston, 244; + letter of Washington to, 246; + sails to West Indies, 246; + second letter of Washington to, 247; + attacks Savannah, 248; + withdraws, 248. + + De Rochambeau, Comte, + arrives at Newport, i. 277; + ordered to await second division of army, 278; + refuses to attack New York, 280; + wishes a conference with Washington, 282; + meets him at Hartford, 282; + disapproves attacking Florida, 301; + joins Washington before New York, 306; + persuades De Barras to join De Grasse, 311; + accompanies Washington to Yorktown, 314. + + Dickinson, John, + commands scouts at Monmouth, i. 326. + + Digby, Admiral, + bitter comments of Washington on, i. 325. + + Dinwiddie, Governor, + remonstrates against French encroachments, i. 66; + sends Washington on mission to French, 66; + quarrels with the Virginia Assembly, 71; + letter of Washington to, 73; + wishes Washington to attack French, 79; + tries to quiet discussions between regular and provincial troops, 80; + military schemes condemned by Washington, 91; + prevents his getting a royal commission, 93. + + Diplomatic History: + refusal by Washington of special privileges to French minister, + ii. 59-61; + slow growth of idea of non-intervention, 132, 133; + difficulties owing to French Revolution, 134; + to English retention of frontier posts, 135; + attitude of Spain, 135; + relations with Barbary States, 136; + mission of Gouverneur Morris to sound English feeling, 137; + assertion by Washington of non-intervention policy toward Europe, + 145, 146; + issue of neutrality proclamation, 147, 148; + its importance, 148; + mission of Genet, 148-162; + guarded attitude of Washington toward emigres, 151; + excesses of Genet, 151; + neutrality enforced, 153, 154; + the Little Sarah episode, 154-157; + recall of Genet demanded, 158; + futile missions of Carmichael and Short to Spain, 165, 166; + successful treaty of Thomas Pinckney, 166-168; + question as to binding nature of French treaty of commerce, 169-171; + irritating relations with England, 173-176; + Jay's mission, 177-184; + the questions at issue, 180, 181; + terms of the treaty agreed upon, 182; + good and bad points, 183; + ratified by Senate, 184; + signing delayed by renewal of provision order, 185; + war with England prevented by signing, 205; + difficulties with France over Morris and Monroe, 211-214; + doings of Monroe, 212, 213; + United States compromised by him, 213, 214; + Monroe replaced by Pinckney, 214; + review of Washington's foreign policy, 216-219; + mission of Pinckney, Marshall, and Gerry to France, 284; + the X.Y.Z. affair, 285. + + Donop, Count, + drives Griffin out of New Jersey, i. 180; + killed at Fort Mercer, 217. + + Dorchester, Lord. + See Carleton. + + Duane, James, + letters of Washington to, i. 294, 329. + + Dumas, Comte, + describes enthusiasm of people for Washington, i. 288. + + Dunbar, Colonel, + connection with Braddock's expedition, i. 84, 87. + + Dunmore, Lord, + arrives in Virginia as governor, i. 122; + on friendly terms with Washington, 122, 123; + dissolves assembly, 123. + + Duplaine, French consul, + exequatur of revoked, ii. 159. + + + EDEN, WILLIAM, + peace commissioner, i. 233. + + Edwards, Jonathan, + a typical New England American, ii. 309. + + Emerson, Rev. Dr., + describes Washington's reforms in army before Boston, i. 140. + + Emigres, + Washington's treatment of, ii. 151, 253. + + England, + honors Washington, i. 20; + arrogant behavior toward colonists, 80, 81, 82, 148; + its policy towards Boston condemned by Virginia, 119, 121, 123, 126; + by Washington, 124, 125,126; + sends incompetent officers to America, 155, 201, 202, 233; + stupidity of its operations, 203, 205, 206, 265; + sincerity of its desire for peace doubted by Washington, 324, 325; + arrogant conduct of toward the United States after peace, ii. 24, 25; + stirs up the Six Nations and Northwestern Indians, 92, 94, 101; + folly of her policy, 102; + sends Hammond as minister, 169; + its opportunity to win United States as ally against France, 171, 172; + adopts contrary policy of opposition, 172, 173; + adopts "provision order," 174; + incites Indians against United States, 175; + indignation of America against, 176; + receives Jay well, but refuses to yield points at issue, 180; + insists on monopoly of West India trade, 180; + and on impressment, 181; + later history of, 181; + renews provision order, 185; + danger of war with, 193; + avoided by Jay treaty, 205; + Washington said to sympathize with England, 252; + his real hostility toward, 254; + Washington's opinion of liberty in, 344. + + Ewing, General James, + fails to help Washington at Trenton, i. 180. + + + FAIRFAX, BRYAN, + hunts with Washington, i. 115; + remonstrates with Washington against violence of patriots, 124; + Washington's replies to, 124, 126, 127; + letter of Washington to in Revolution, ii. 366. + + Fairfax, George, + married to Miss Cary, i. 55; + accompanies Washington on surveying expedition, 58; + letter of Washington to, 133. + + Fairfax, Mrs.----, + letter of Washington to, ii. 367. + + Fairfax, Thomas, Lord, + his career in England, i. 55; + comes to his Virginia estates, 55; + his character, 55; + his friendship for Washington, 56; + sends him to survey estates, 56; + plans a manor across the Blue Ridge, 59; + secures for Washington position as public surveyor, 60; + probably influential in securing his appointment as envoy to + French, 66; + hunts with Washington, 115; + his death remembered by Washington, ii. 366. + + Fairlie, Major, + amuses Washington, ii. 374. + + Farewell Address, ii. 248, 249. + + Fauchet, M.,----, + letter of, incriminating Randolph, ii. 195,196, 202. + + Fauntleroy, Betsy, + love affair of Washington with, i. 97. + + Fauquier, Francis, Governor, + at Washington's wedding, i. 101. + + Federal courts, + suggested by Washington, i. 150. + + "Federalist," + circulated by Washington, ii. 40. + + Federalist party, + begun by Hamilton's controversy with Jefferson, ii. 230; + supports Washington for reelection, 235; + organized in support of financial measures, 236; + Washington looked upon by Democrats as its head, 244, 247; + only its members trusted by Washington, 246, 247, 259, 260, 261; + becomes a British party, 255; + Washington considers himself a member of, 269-274; + the only American party until 1800, 273; + strengthened by X, Y, Z affair, 285; + dissensions in, over army appointments, 286-290; + its horror at French Revolution, 294, 295; + attempts of Washington to heal divisions in, 298. + + Fenno's newspaper, + used by Hamilton against the "National Gazette," ii. 230. + + Finances of the Revolution, + effect of paper money on war, i. 258, 262; + difficulties in paying troops, 258; + labors of Robert Morris, 259, 264, 312; + connection of Washington with, 263; + continued collapse, 280, 290, 312. + + Financial History, + bad condition in 1789, ii. 105; + decay of credit, paper, and revenue, 106; + futile propositions, 106; + Hamilton's report on credit, 107; + debate over assumption of state debt, 107; + bargain between Hamilton and Jefferson, 108; + establishment of bank, 109; + other measures adopted, 112; + protection in the first Congress, 112-115; + the excise tax imposed, 123; + opposition to, 123-127; + "Whiskey Rebellion," 127-128. + + Fishbourn, Benjamin, + nomination rejected by Senate, ii. 63. + + Fontanes, M. de, + delivers funeral oration on Washington, i. 1. + + Forbes, General, + renews attack on French in Ohio, i. 93. + + Forman, Major, + describes impressiveness of Washington, ii. 389. + + Fox, Charles James, + understands significance of Washington's leadership, i. 202. + + France, + pays honors to Washington, i. I, 6; + war with England, see French and Indian war; + takes possession of Ohio, 65; + considers Jumonville assassinated by Washington, 74; + importance of alliance with foreseen by Washington, 191; + impressed by battle of Germantown, 200; + makes treaty of alliance with United States, 241; + sends D'Estaing, 243; + declines to attack Canada, 256; + sends army and fleet, 274, 277; + relations of French to Washington, 318, 319; + absolute necessity of their naval aid, 318, 319; + Revolution in, applauded by America, ii. 138, 139, 142; + real character understood by Washington and others, 139-142, 295; + debate over in America, 142; + question of relations with United States, 143, 144; + warned by Washington, 144, 145; + neutrality toward declared, 147; + tries to drive United States into alliance, 149; + terms of the treaty with, 169; + latter held to be no longer binding, 169-171; + abrogates it, 171; + demands recall of Morris, 211; + mission of Monroe to, 211-214; + makes vague promises, 212, 213; + Washington's fairness toward, 253; + tries to bully or corrupt American ministers, 284; + the X, Y, Z affair, 285; + war with not expected by Washington, 291; + danger of concession to, 292, 293; + progress of Revolution in, 294. + + Franklin, Benjamin, + gets wagons for Braddock's expedition, i. 84; + remark on Howe in Philadelphia, 219; + national, like Washington, 252, ii. 8; + despairs of success of Constitutional Convention, 35; + his unquestioned Americanism, 309; + respect of Washington for, 344, 346, 364. + + Frederick II., the Great, + his opinion of Trenton campaign, i. 183; + of Monmouth campaign, 239. + + French and Indian war, i. 64-94; + inevitable conflict, 65; + efforts to negotiate, 66, 67; + hostilities begun, 72; + the Jumonville affair, 74; + defeat of Washington, 76; + Braddock's campaign, 82-88; + ravages in Virginia, 90; + carried to a favorable conclusion by Pitt, 93, 94. + + Freneau, Philip, + brought to Philadelphia and given clerkship by Jefferson, ii. 227; + attacks Adams, Hamilton, and Washington in "National Gazette," 227; + makes conflicting statements as to Jefferson's share in the paper, + 227, 228; + the first to attack Washington, 238. + + Fry, Colonel, + commands a Virginia regiment against French and Indians, i. 71; + dies, leaving Washington in command, 75. + + + GAGE, GENERAL THOMAS, + conduct at Boston condemned by Washington, i. 126; + his treatment of prisoners protested against by Washington, 145; + sends an arrogant reply, 147; + second letter of Washington to, 147, 156. + + Gallatin, Albert, + connection with Whiskey Rebellion, ii. 129. + + Gates, Horatio, + visits Mt. Vernon, his character, i. 132; + refuses to cooperate with Washington at Trenton, 180; + his appointment as commander against Burgoyne urged, 208; + chosen by Congress, 209; + his part in defeating Burgoyne, 210; + neglects to inform Washington, 211; + loses his head and wishes to supplant Washington, 215; + forced to send troops South, 216, 217; + his attitude discovered by Washington, 221; + makes feeble efforts at opposition, 221, 223; + correspondence with Washington, 221, 223, 226; + becomes head of board of war, 221; + quarrels with Wilkinson, 223; + sent to his command, 226; + fears attack of British on Boston, 265; + sent by Congress to command in South, 268; + defeated at Camden, 281, 294; + loses support of Congress, 294. + + Genet, Edmond Charles, + arrives as French minister, ii. 148; + his character, 149; + violates neutrality, 151; + his journey to Philadelphia, 151; + reception by Washington, 152; + complains of it, 153; + makes demands upon State Department, 153; + protests at seizure of privateers, 153; + insists on sailing of Little Sarah, 155; + succeeds in getting vessel away, 157; + his recall demanded, 158; + reproaches Jefferson, 158; + remains in America, 158; + threatens to appeal from Washington to Massachusetts, 159; + demands denial from Washington of Jay's statements, 159; + loses popular support, 160; + tries to raise a force to invade Southwest, 161; + prevented by state and federal authorities, 162; + his arrival the signal for divisions of parties, 237; + hurts Democratic party by his excesses, 241; + suggests clubs, 241. + + George IV., + Washington's opinion of, ii. 346. + + Georgia, + quarrels with Creeks, asks aid of United States, ii. 90; + becomes dissatisfied with treaty, 91; + disregards treaties of the United States, 103. + + Gerard, M., + notifies Washington of return of D'Estaing, i. 246. + + Germantown, + battle of, i. 199. + + Gerry, Elbridge, + on special mission to France, ii. 284; + disliked by Washington, 292. + + Giles, W.B., + attacks Washington in Congress, ii. 251, 252. + + Gist, Christopher, + accompanies Washington on his mission to French, i. 66; + wishes to shoot French Indians, 68. + + Gordon,----, + letter of Washington to, i. 227. + + Graves, Admiral, + sent to relieve Cornwallis, i. 312; defeated by De Grasse, 312. + + Grayson, William, + hunts with Washington, i. 115; letter to, ii. 22. + + Green Springs, + battle of, i. 307. + + Greene, General Nathanael, + commands at Long Island, ill with fever, i. 164; + wishes forts on Hudson held, 174; + late in attacking at Germantown, 199; + conducts retreat, 200; + succeeds Mifflin as quartermaster-general, 232; + selected by Washington to command in South, 268; + commands army at New York in absence of Washington, 282; + appointed to command Southern army, 295; + retreats from Cornwallis, 302; + fights battle of Guilford Court House, 302; + clears Southern States of enemy, 302; + strong position, 304; + reinforced by Washington, 322; + letter to, 325; + his military capacity early recognized by Washington, ii. 334; + amuses Washington, 374. + + Greene, Mrs.----, + dances three hours with Washington, ii. 380. + + Grenville, Lord, + denies that ministry has incited Indians against United States, + ii. 175; + receives Jay, 180; + declines to grant United States trade with West Indies, 181. + + Griffin, David, + commissioner to treat with Creeks, ii. 90. + + Griffin,----, + fails to help Washington at Trenton, i. 180. + + Grymes, Lucy, + the "Lowland Beauty," love affair of Washington with, i. 95; + marries Henry Lee, 96. + + + HALDIMAND, SIR FREDERICK, + leads Indians against colonists, i. 325. + + Hale, Nathan, compared with Andre, i. 288. + + Half-King, + kept to English alliance by Washington, i. 68; + his criticism of Washington's first campaign, 76. + + Hamilton, Alexander, + forces Gates to send back troops to Washington, i. 216, 217; + remark on councils of war before Monmouth, 234; + informs Washington of Arnold's treason, 284; + sent to intercept Arnold, 285; + writes letters on government and finance, 298; + leads attack at Yorktown, i. 316; + requests release of Asgill, 329; + aids Washington in Congress, 333; + only man beside Washington and Franklin to realize American future, + ii. 7; + letters of Washington to on necessity of a strong government, 17, 18; + writes letters to Duane and Morris, 19; + speech in Federal Convention and departure, 35; + counseled by Washington, 39; + consulted by Washington as to etiquette, 54; + made secretary of treasury, 66; + his character, 67; + his report on the mint, 81; + on the public credit, 107; + upheld by Washington, 107, 108; + his arrangement with Jefferson, 108; + argument on the bank, 110; + his success largely due to Washington, 112; + his report on manufactures, 112, 114, 116; + advocates an excise, 122; + fails to realize its unpopularity, 123; + accompanies expedition to suppress Whiskey Rebellion, 128; + comprehends French Revolution, 139; + frames questions to cabinet on neutrality, 147; + urges decisive measures against Genet, 154; + argues against United States being bound by French treaty, 169; + selected for English mission, but withdraws, 177; + not likely to have done better than Jay, 183; + mobbed in defending Jay treaty, 187; + writes Camillus letters in favor of Jay treaty, 206; + intrigued against by Monroe, 212; + causes for his breach with Jefferson, 224; + his aristocratic tendencies, 225; + attacked by Jefferson and his friends, 228, 229; + disposes of the charges, 229; + retorts in newspapers with effect, 230; + ceases at Washington's request, 230, 234; + resigns from the cabinet, 234; + desires Washington's reelection, 235; + selected by Washing, ton as senior general, 286; + appeals to Washington against Adams's reversal of rank, 286; + fails to soothe Knox's anger, 288; + report on army organization, 290; + letter of Washington to, condemning Adams's French mission, 293; + fears anarchy from Democratic success, 295; + approves Alien and Sedition Acts, 296; + his scheme of a military academy approved by Washington, 299; + Washington's affection for, 317, 362; + his ability early recognized by Washington, 334, 335; + aids Washington in literary points, 340; + takes care of Lafayette's son, 366. + + Hammond, George, + protests against violations of neutrality, ii. 151; + his arrival as British minister, 169; + his offensive tone, 173; + does not disavow Lord Dorchester's speech to Indians, 176; + gives Fauchet letters to Wolcott, 195; + intrigues with American public men, 200. + + Hampden, John, + compared with Washington, ii. 312, 313. + + Hancock, John, + disappointed at Washington's receiving command of army, i. 135; + his character, ii. 74; + refuses to call first on Washington as President, 75; + apologizes and calls, 75, 76. + + Hardin, Colonel, + twice surprised and defeated by Indians, ii. 93. + + Harmar, Colonel, + invades Indian country, ii. 92; + attacks the Miamis, 93; + sends out unsuccessful expeditions and retreats, 93; + court-martialed and resigns, 93. + + Harrison, Benjamin, + letters of Washington to, i. 259, 261; ii. 10. + + Hartley, Mrs.----, + admired by Washington, i. 95. + + Heard, Sir Isaac, + Garter King at Arms, makes out a pedigree for Washington, i. 30, 31. + + Heath, General, + checks Howe at Frog's Point, i. 173; + left in command at New York, 311. + + Henry, Patrick, + his resolutions supported by Washington, i. 119; + accompanies him to Philadelphia, 128; + his tribute to Washington's influence, 130; + ready for war, 132; + letters of Conway cabal to against Washington, 222; + letter of Washington to, 225; + appealed to by Washington on behalf of Constitution, ii. 38; + an opponent of the Constitution, 71; + urged by Washington to oppose Virginia resolutions, 266-268, 293; + a genuine American, 309; + offered secretaryship of state, 324; + friendship of Washington for, 362. + + Hertburn, Sir William de, + ancestor of Washington family, i. 31, 33. + + Hessians, + in Revolution, i. 194. + + Hickey, Thomas, + hanged for plotting to murder Washington, i. 160. + + Hobby,----, a sexton, + Washington's earliest teacher, i. 48. + + Hopkinson, Francis, + letter of Washington to, ii. 3. + + Houdon, J.A., sculptor, + on Washington's appearance, ii. 386. + + Howe, Lord, + arrives at New York with power to negotiate and pardon, i. 161; + refuses to give Washington his title, 161; + tries to negotiate with Congress, 167; + escapes D'Estaing at Delaware, 244; + attacks D'Estaing off Newport, 244. + + Howe, Sir William, + has controversy with Washington over treatment of prisoners, i. 148; + checked at Frog's Point, 173; + attacks cautiously at Chatterton Hill, 173; + retreats and attacks forts on Hudson, 174; + takes Fort Washington, 175; + goes into winter quarters in New York, 177, 186; + suspected of purpose to meet Burgoyne, 194, 195; + baffled in advance across New Jersey by Washington, 194; + goes by sea, 195; + arrives at Head of Elk, 196; + defeats Washington at Brandywine, 197; + camps at Germantown, 199; + withdraws after Germantown into Philadelphia, 201; + folly of his failure to meet Burgoyne, 205, 206; + offers battle in vain to Washington, 218; + replaced by Clinton, 232; + tries to cut off Lafayette, 233. + + Huddy, Captain, + captured by English, hanged by Tories, i. 327. + + Humphreys, Colonel, + letters of Washington to, ii. 13, 339; + at opening of Congress, 78; + commissioner to treat with Creeks, 90; + anecdote of, 375. + + Huntington, Lady, + asks Washington's aid in Christianizing Indians, ii. 4. + + + IMPRESSMENT, + right of, maintained by England, ii. 181. + + Independence, + not wished, but foreseen, by Washington, i. 131, 156; + declared by Congress, possibly through Washington's influence, 160. + + Indians, + wars with in Virginia, i. 37, 38; + in French and Indian war, 67,68; + desert English, 76; + in Braddock's defeat, 85, 86, 88; + restless before Revolution, 122; + in War of Revolution, 266, 270; + punished by Sullivan, 269; + policy toward, early suggested by Washington, 344; + recommendations relative to in Washington's address to Congress, + ii. 82; + the "Indian problem" under Washington's administration, 83-105; + erroneous popular ideas of, 84, 85; + real character and military ability, 85-87; + understood by Washington, 87, 88; + a real danger in 1788, 88; + situation in the Northwest, 89; + difficulties with Cherokees and Creeks, 89, 90; + influence of Spanish intrigue, 90; + successful treaty with Creeks, 90, 91; + wisdom of this policy, 92; + warfare in the Northwest, 92; + defeats of Harmar and Hardin, 93; + causes for the failure, 93, 94; + intrigues of England, 92, 94, 175, 178; + expedition and defeat of St. Clair, 95-97; + results, 99; + expedition of Wayne, 100, 102; + his victory, 103; + success of Washington's policy toward, 104, 105. + + Iredell, James, + appointed to Supreme Court, ii. 73. + + + JACKSON, MAJOR, + accompanies Washington to opening of Congress, ii. 78. + + Jameson, Colonel, + forwards Andrews letter to Arnold, i. 284; + receives orders from Washington, 285. + + Jay, John, + on opposition in Congress, to Washington, i. 222; + consulted by Washington as to etiquette, ii. 54; + appointed chief justice, 72; + publishes card against Genet, 159; + appointed on special mission to England, 177; + his character, 177; + instructions from Washington, 179; + his reception in England, 180; + difficulties in negotiating, 181; + concludes treaty, 182; + burnt in effigy while absent, 186; + execrated after news of treaty, 187; + hampered by Monroe in France, 213. + + Jay treaty, ii. 180-184; + opposition to and debate over signing, 184-201; + reasons of Washington for signing, 205. + + Jefferson, Thomas, + his flight from Cornwallis, i. 307; + discusses with Washington needs of government, ii. 9; + adopts French democratic phraseology, 27; + contrast with Washington, 27, 28, 69; + criticises Washington's manners, 56; + made secretary of state, 68; + his previous relations with Washington, 68; + his character, 69; + supposed to be a friend of the Constitution, 72; + his objections to President's opening Congress, 79; + on weights and measures, 81; + letter of Washington to on assumption of state debts, 107; + makes bargain with Hamilton, 108; + opposes a bank, 110; + asked to prepare neutrality instructions, 146; + upholds Genet, 153; + argues against him publicly, supports him privately, 154; + notified of French privateer Little Sarah, 155; + allows it to sail, 155; + retires to country and is censured by Washington, 156; + assures Washington that vessel will wait his decision, 156; + his un-American attitude, 157; + wishes to make terms of note demanding Genet's recall mild, 158; + argues that United States is bound by French treaty, 170, 171; + begs Madison to answer Hamilton's "Camillus" letters, 206; + his attitude upon first entering cabinet, 223; + causes for his breach with Hamilton, 224; + jealousy, incompatibility of temper, 224; + his democratic opinions, 225; + skill in creating party catch-words, 225; + prints "Rights of Man" with note against Adams, 226; + attacks him further in letter to Washington, 226; + brings Freneau to Philadelphia and gives him an office, 227; + denies any connection with Freneau's newspaper, 227; + his real responsibility, 228; + his purpose to undermine Hamilton, 228; + causes his friends to attack him, 229; + writes a letter to Washington attacking Hamilton's treasury measures, + 229; + fails to produce any effect, 230; + winces under Hamilton's counter attacks, 230; + reiterates charges and asserts devotion to Constitution, 231; + continues attacks and resigns, 234; + wishes reelection of Washington, 235; + his charge of British sympathies resented by Washington, 252; + plain letter of Washington to, 259; + Washington's opinion of, 259; + suggests Logan's mission to France, 262, 265; + takes oath as vice-president, 276; + regarded as a Jacobin by Federalists, 294; + jealous of Washington, 306; + accuses him of senility, 307; + a genuine American, 309. + + Johnson, William, + Tory leader in New York, i. 143. + + Johnstone, Governor, + peace commissioner, i. 233. + + Jumonville, De, French leader, + declared to have been assassinated by Washington, i. 74,79; + really a scout and spy, 75. + + + KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS, + condemned by Washington, ii. 266-268. + + King, Clarence, + his opinion that Washington was not American, ii. 308. + + King, Rufus, + publishes card exposing Genet, ii. 159. + + King's Bridge, + fight at, i. 170. + + Kip's Landing, + fight at, i. 168. + + Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, + negotiates with Six Nations, ii. 101. + + Knox, Henry, + brings artillery to Boston from Ticonderoga, i. 152; + accompanies Washington to meet De Rochambeau, 283; + at West Point, 285; + sent by Washington to confer with governors of States, 295; + urged by Washington to establish Western posts, ii. 7; + letters of Washington to, 30, 39; + made secretary of war, 65; + his character, 65; + a Federalist, 71; + deals with Creeks, 91; + urges decisive measure against Genet, 154, 155; + letters of Washington to, 260; + selected by Washington as third major-general, 286; + given first place by Adams, 286; + angry at Hamilton's higher rank, 288; + refuses the office, 289; + his offer to serve on Washington's staff refused, 289; + Washington's affection for, 317, 362. + + + LAFAYETTE, Madame de, + aided by Washington, ii. 366; + letter of Washington to, 377. + + Lafayette, Marquis de, + Washington's regard for, i. 192; + his opinion of Continental troops, 196; + sent on fruitless journey to the lakes by cabal, 222, 253; + encouraged by Washington, 225; + narrowly escapes being cut off by Clinton, 233; + appointed to attack British rear, 235; + superseded by Lee, 235; + urges Washington to come, 235; + letter of Washington to, regarding quarrel between D'Estaing and + Sullivan, 245; + regard of Washington for, 249; + desires to conquer Canada, 254; + his plan not supported in France, 256; + works to get a French army sent, 264; + brings news of French army and fleet, 274; + tries to get De Rochambeau to attack New York, 280; + accompanies Washington to meet De Rochambeau, 283; + told by Washington of Arnold's treachery, 285; + on court to try Andre, 287; + opinion of Continental soldiers, 293; + harasses Cornwallis, 307; + defeated at Green Springs, 307; + watches Cornwallis at Yorktown, 308; + reinforced by De Grasse, 312; + persuades him to remain, 315; + sends Washington French wolf-hounds, ii. 2; + letters of Washington to, 23, 26, 118, 144, 165, 222, 261; + his son not received by Washington, 253; + later taken care of, 277, 281, 366; + his worth, early seen by Washington, 334; + Washington's affection for, 365; + sends key of Bastile to Mt. Vernon, 365; + helped by Washington, 365,366. + + Laurens, Henry, + letter of Conway cabal to, making attack on Washington, i. 222; + letters of Washington to, 254, 288; + sent to Paris to get loans, 299. + + Lauzun, Duc de, + repulses Tarleton at Yorktown, i. 317. + + + Lear, Tobias, + Washington's secretary, ii. 263; + his account of Washington's last illness, 299-303, 385; + letters to, 361, 382. + + Lee, Arthur, + example of Virginia gentleman educated abroad, i. 23. + + Lee, Charles, + visits Mt. Vernon, his character, i. 132; + accompanies Washington to Boston, 136; + aids Washington in organizing army, 140; + disobeys orders and is captured, 175; + objects to attacking Clinton, 234; + first refuses, then claims command of van, 235; + disobeys orders and retreats, 236; + rebuked by Washington, 236, 237; + court martial of and dismissal from army, 237; + his witty remark on taking oath of allegiance, ii. 375. + + Lee, Henry, marries Lucy Grymes, + Washington's "Lowland Beauty," i. 96. + + Lee, Henry, + son of Lucy Grymes, Washington's "Lowland Beauty," i. 96; ii. 362; + captures Paulus Hook, i. 269; + letters of Washington to, ii. 23, 26, 149, 235, 239, 242, 252; + considered for command against Indians, 100; + commands troops to suppress Whiskey Rebellion, 127; + Washington's affection for, 362. + + Lee, Richard Henry, + unfriendly to Washington, i. 214; + letter of Washington to, ii. 160. + + Lewis, Lawrence, + at opening of Congress, ii. 78; + takes social duties at Mt. Vernon, 280. + + Liancourt, Duc de, + refused reception by Washington, ii. 253. + + Lincoln, Abraham, + compared with Washington, i. 349; ii. 308-313. + + Lincoln, Benjamin, + sent by Washington against Burgoyne, i. 210; + fails to understand Washington's policy and tries to hold Charleston, + 273, 274; + captured, 276; + commissioner to treat with Creeks, ii. 90. + + Lippencott, Captain, + orders hanging of Huddy, i. 327; + acquitted by English court martial, 328. + + Little Sarah, + the affair of, 155-157. + + Livingston, Chancellor, + administers oath at Washington's inauguration, ii. 46. + + Livingston, Edward, + moves call for papers relating to Jay treaty, ii. 207. + + Logan, Dr. George, + goes on volunteer mission to France, ii. 262; + ridiculed by Federalists, publishes defense, 263; + calls upon Washington, 263; + mercilessly snubbed, 263-265. + + Long Island, + battle of, i. 164,165. + + London, Lord, + disappoints Washington by his inefficiency, i. 91. + + Lovell, James, + follows the Adamses in opposing Washington, i. 214; + wishes to supplant him by Gates, 215; + writes hostile letters, 222. + + + MACKENZIE, CAPTAIN, + letter of Washington to, i. 130. + + Madison, James, + begins to desire a stronger government, ii. 19, 29; + letters of Washington to, 30, 39, 53; + chosen for French mission, but does not go, 211. + + Magaw, Colonel, + betrayed at Fort Washington, i. 175. + + "Magnolia," + Washington's pet colt, beaten in a race, i. 99, 113; ii. 381. + + Marshall, John, + Chief Justice, on special commission to France, ii. 284; + tells anecdote of Washington's anger at cowardice, 392. + + Maryland, the Washington family in, i.36. + + Mason, George, + discusses political outlook with Washington, i. 119; + letter of Washington to, 263; + an opponent of the Constitution, ii. 71; + friendship of Washington for, 362; + debates with Washington the site of Pohick Church, 381. + + Mason, S.T., + communicates Jay treaty to Bache, ii. 185. + + Massey, Rev. Lee, + rector of Pohick Church, i. 44. + + Mathews, George, + letter of Washington to, i. 294. + + Matthews, Edward, + makes raids in Virginia, i. 269. + + Mawhood, General, + defeated at Princeton, i. 182. + + McGillivray, Alexander, + chief of the Creeks, ii. 90; + his journey to New York and interview with Washington, 91. + + McHenry, James, + at West Point, i. 284; + letters to, 325, ii. 22, 278, 287, 384; + becomes secretary of war, 246; + advised by Washington not to appoint Democrats, 260, 261. + + McKean, Thomas, given letters to Dr. Logan, ii. 265. + + McMaster, John B., + calls Washington "an unknown man," i. 7, ii. 304; + calls him cold, 332, 352; + and avaricious in small ways, 352. + + Meade, Colonel Richard, + Washington's opinion of, ii. 335. + + Mercer, Hugh, + killed at Princeton, i. 182. + + Merlin,----, + president of Directory, interview with Dr. Logan, ii. 265. + + Mifflin, Thomas, + wishes to supplant Washington by Gates, i. 216; + member of board of war, 221; + put under Washington's orders, 226; + replies to Washington's surrender of commission, 349; + meets Washington on journey to inauguration, ii. 44; + notified of the Little Sarah, French privateer, 154; + orders its seizure, 155. + + Militia, + abandon Continental army, i. 167; + cowardice of, 168; + despised by Washington, 169; + leave army again, 175; + assist in defeat of Burgoyne, 211. + + Mischianza, i. 232. + + Monmouth, + battle of, i. 235-239. + + Monroe, James, + appointed minister to France, ii. 211; + his character, 212; + intrigues against Hamilton, 212; + effusively received in Paris, 212; + acts foolishly, 213; + tries to interfere with Jay, 213; + upheld, then condemned and recalled by Washington, 213, 214; + writes a vindication, 215; + Washington's opinion of him, 215, 216; + his selection one of Washington's few mistakes, 334. + + Montgomery, General Richard, + sent by Washington to invade Canada, i. 143. + + Morgan, Daniel, + sent against Burgoyne by Washington, i. 208; + at Saratoga, 210; + wins battle of Cowpens, joins Greene, 301. + + Morris, Gouverneur, + letters of Washington to, i. 248, 263; + efforts towards financial reform, 264; + quotes speech of Washington at Federal convention in his eulogy, + ii. 31; + discussion as to his value as an authority, 32, note; + goes to England on unofficial mission, 137; + balked by English insolence, 137; + comprehends French Revolution, 139; + letters of Washington to, on the Revolution, 140,142,145; + recall demanded by France, 211; + letter of Washington to, 217,240, 254; + Washington's friendship for, 363. + + Morris, Robert, + letter of Washington to, i. 187; + helps Washington to pay troops, 259; + efforts towards financial reform, 264; + difficulty in helping Washington in 1781, 309, 312; + considered for secretary of treasury, ii. 66; + his bank policy approved by Washington, 110; + Washington's friendship for, 363. + + Moustier, + demands private access to Washington, ii. 59; + refused, 59, 60. + + Murray, Vans, minister in Holland, + interview with Dr. Logan, ii. 264; + nominated for French mission by Adams, 292; + written to by Washington, 292. + + Muse, Adjutant, + trains Washington in tactics and art of war, i. 65. + + + NAPOLEON, + orders public mourning for Washington's death, i. 1. + + Nelson, General, + letter of Washington to, i. 257. + + Newburgh, + addresses, ii. 335. + + New England, + character of people, i. 138; + attitude toward Washington, 138, 139; + troops disliked by Washington, 152; + later praised by him, 152, 317, 344; + threatened by Burgoyne's invasion, 204; + its delegates in Congress demand appointment of Gates, 208; + and oppose Washington, 214; + welcomes Washington on tour as President, ii. 74; + more democratic than other colonies before Revolution, 315; + disliked by Washington for this reason, 316. + + Newenham, Sir Edward, + letter of Washington to on American foreign policy, ii. 133. + + New York, + Washington's first visit to, i. 99, 100; + defense of, in Revolution, 159-169; + abandoned by Washington, 169; + Howe establishes himself in, 177; + reoccupied by Clinton, 264; + Washington's journey to, ii. 44; + inauguration in, 46; + rioting in, against Jay treaty, 187. + + Nicholas, John, + letter of Washington to, ii. 259. + + Nicola, Col., + urges Washington to establish a despotism, i. 337. + + Noailles, Vicomte de, French emigre, + referred to State Department, ii. 151, 253. + + + O'FLINN, CAPTAIN, + Washington's friendship with, ii. 318. + + Organization of the national government, + absence of materials to work with, ii. 51; + debate over title of President, 52; + over his communications with Senate, 53; + over presidential etiquette, 53-56; + appointment of officials to cabinet offices established by Congress, + 64-71; + appointment of supreme court judges, 72. + + Orme,----, + letter of Washington to, i. 84. + + + PAINE, THOMAS, + his "Rights of Man" reprinted by Jefferson, ii. 226. + + Parkinson, Richard, + says Washington was harsh to slaves, i. 105; + contradicts statement elsewhere, 106; + tells stories of Washington's pecuniary exactness, ii. 353, 354, 382; + his character, 355; + his high opinion of Washington, 356. + + Parton, James, + considers Washington as good but commonplace, ii. 330, 374. + + Peachey, Captain, + letter of Washington to, i. 92. + + Pendleton, Edmund, + Virginia delegate to Continental Congress, i. 128. + + Pennsylvania, + refuses to fight the French, i. 72,83; + fails to help Washington, 225; + remonstrates against his going into winter quarters, 229; + condemned by Washington, 229; + compromises with mutineers, 292. + + Philipse, Mary, + brief love-affair of Washington with, i. 99, 100. + + Phillips, General, + commands British troops in Virginia, i. 303; + death of, 303. + + Pickering, Colonel, quiets Six Nations, ii. 94. + + Pickering, Timothy, + letter of Washington to, on French Revolution, ii. 140; + on failure of Spanish negotiations, 166; + recalls Washington to Philadelphia to receive Fauchet letter, 195; + succeeds Randolph, 246; + letters of Washington to, on party government, 247; + appeals to Washington against Adams's reversal of Hamilton's rank, + 286; + letters of Washington to, 292, 324; + criticises Washington as a commonplace person, 307. + + Pinckney, Charles C., + letter of Washington to, ii. 90; + appointed to succeed Monroe as minister to France, 214; + refused reception, 284; + sent on special commission, 284; + named by Washington as general, 286; + accepts without complaint of Hamilton's higher rank, 290; + Washington's friendship with, 363. + + Pinckney, Thomas, + sent on special mission to Spain, ii. 166; + unsuccessful at first, 166; + succeeds in making a good treaty, 167; + credit of his exploit, 168; + letter of Washington to, 325. + + Pitt, William, + his conduct of French war, i. 93, 94. + + Princeton, + battle of, i. 181-3. + + Privateers, + sent out by Washington, i. 150. + + "Protection" + favored in the first Congress, ii. 113-115; + arguments of Hamilton for, 114, 115; + of Washington, 116-122. + + Provincialism, + of Americans, i. 193; + with regard to foreign officers, 193, 234, 250-252; + with regard to foreign politics, ii. 131, 132, 163, 237, 255. + + Putnam, Israel, + escapes with difficulty from New York, i. 169; + fails to help Washington at Trenton, 180; + warned to defend the Hudson, 195; + tells Washington of Burgoyne's surrender, 211; + rebuked by Washington, 217; + amuses Washington, ii. 374. + + + RAHL, COLONEL, + defeated and killed at Trenton, i. 181. + + Randolph, Edmund, + letter of Washington to, ii. 30, 39; + relations with Washington, 64; + appointed attorney-general, 64; + his character, 64, 65; + a friend of the Constitution, 71; + opposes a bank, 110; + letter of Washington to, on protective bounties, 118; + drafts neutrality proclamation, 147; + vacillates with regard to Genet, 154; + argues that United States is bound by French alliance, 170; + succeeds Jefferson as secretary of state, 184; + directed to prepare a remonstrance against English "provision order," + 185; + opposed to Jay treaty, 188; + letter of Washington to, on conditional ratification, 189, 191, 192, + 194; + guilty, apparently, from Fauchet letter, of corrupt practices, 196; + his position not a cause for Washington's signing treaty, 196-200; + receives Fauchet letter, resigns, 201; + his personal honesty, 201; + his discreditable carelessness, 202; + fairly treated by Washington, 203, 204; + his complaints against Washington, 203; + letter of Washington to, concerning Monroe, 213; + at first a Federalist, 246. + + Randolph, John, + on early disappearance of Virginia colonial society, i. 15. + + Rawdon, Lord, + commands British forces in South, too distant to help Cornwallis, + i. 304. + + Reed, Joseph, + letters of Washington to, i. 151, 260. + + Revolution, War of, + foreseen by Washington, i. 120, 122; + Lexington and Concord, 133; + Bunker Hill, 136; + siege of Boston, 137-154; + organization of army, 139-142; + operations in New York, 143; + invasion of Canada, 143, 144; + question as to treatment of prisoners, 145-148; + causes of British defeat, 154, 155; + campaign near New York, 161-177; + causes for attempted defense of Brooklyn, 163, 164; + battle of Long Island, 164-165; + escape of Americans, 166; + affair at Kip's Bay, 168; + at King's Bridge, 170; + at Frog's Point, 173; + battle of White Plains, 173; + at Chatterton Hill, 174; + capture of Forts Washington and Lee, 174, 175; + pursuit of Washington into New Jersey, 175-177; + retirement of Howe to New York, 177; + battle of Trenton, 180, 181; + campaign of Princeton, 181-183; + its brilliancy, 183; + Philadelphia campaign, 194-202; + British march across New Jersey prevented by Washington, 194; + sea voyage to Delaware, 195; + battle of the Brandywine, 196-198; + causes for defeat, 198; + defeat of Wayne, 198; + Philadelphia taken by Howe, 199; + battle of Germantown, 199; + its significance, 200, 201; + Burgoyne's invasion, 203-211; + Washington's preparations for, 204-206; + Howe's error in neglecting to cooperate, 205; + capture of Ticonderoga, 207; + battles of Bennington, Oriskany, Fort Schuyler, 210; + battle of Saratoga, 211; + British repulse at Fort Mercer, 217; + destruction of the forts, 217; + fruitless skirmishing before Philadelphia, 218; + Valley Forge, 228-232; + evacuation of Philadelphia, 234; + battle of Monmouth, 235-239; + its effect, 239; + cruise and failure of D'Estaing at Newport, 243, 244; + failure of D'Estaing at Savannah, 247, 248; + storming of Stony Point, 268, 269; + Tory raids near New York, 269; + standstill in 1780, 272; + siege and capture of Charleston, 273, 274, 276; + operations of French and Americans near Newport, 277, 278; + battle of Camden, 281; + treason of Arnold, 281-289; + battle of Cowpens, 301; + retreat of Greene before Cornwallis, 302; + battle of Guilford Court House, 302; + successful operations of Greene, 302, 303; + Southern campaign planned by Washington, 304-311; + feints against Clinton, 306; + operations of Cornwallis and Lafayette in Virginia, 307; + naval supremacy secured by Washington, 310, 311; + battle of De Grasse and Graves off Chesapeake, 312; + transport of American army to Virginia, 311-313; + siege and capture of Yorktown, 315-318; + masterly character of campaign, 318-320; + petty operations before New York, 326; + treaty of peace, 342. + + Rives, + on Washington's doubts of constitutionality of Bank, ii. 110. + + Robinson, Beverly, + speaker of Virginia House of Burgesses, his compliment to Washington, + i. 102. + + Robinson, Colonel, + loyalist, i. 282. + + Rumsey, James, + the inventor, asks Washington's consideration of his steamboat, ii. 4. + + Rush, Benjamin, + describes Washington's impressiveness, ii. 389. + + Rutledge, John, + letter of Washington to, i. 281; + nomination rejected by Senate, ii. 63; + nominated to Supreme Court, 73. + + + ST. CLAIR, Arthur, + removed after loss of Ticonderoga, i. 208; + appointed to command against Indians, ii. 94; + receives instructions and begins expedition, 95; + defeated, 96; + his character, 99; + fair treatment by Washington, 99; + popular execration of, 105. + + St. Pierre, M. de, + French governor in Ohio, i. 67. + + St. Simon, Count, + reinforces Lafayette, i. 312. + + Sandwich, Lord, + calls all Yankees cowards, i. 155. + + Saratoga, + anecdote concerning, i. 202. + + Savage, Edward, + characteristics of his portrait of Washington, i. 13. + + Savannah, + siege of, i. 247. + + Scammel, Colonel, + amuses Washington, ii. 374. + + Schuyler, Philip, + accompanies Washington to Boston, i. 136; + appointed military head in New York, 136; + directed by Washington how to meet Burgoyne, 204; + fails to carry out directions, 207; + removed, 208; + value of his preparations, 209. + + Scott, Charles, commands expedition against Indians, ii. 95. + + Sea-power, + its necessity seen by Washington, i. 283, 303, 304, 306, 310, 318, 319. + + Sectional feeling, + deplored by Washington, ii. 222. + + Sharpe, Governor, + offers Washington a company, i. 80; + Washington's reply to, 81. + + Shays's Rebellion, + comments of Washington and Jefferson upon, ii. 26, 27. + + Sherman, Roger, + makes sarcastic remark about Wilkinson, i. 220. + + Shirley, Governor William, + adjusts matter of Washington's rank, i. 91, 97. + + Short, William, minister to Holland, + on commission regarding opening of Mississippi, ii. 166. + + Six Nations, + make satisfactory treaties, ii. 88; + stirred up by English, 94; + but pacified, 94, 101. + + Slavery, + in Virginia, i. 20; + its evil effects, 104; + Washington's attitude toward slaves, 105; + his condemnation of the system, 106, 107; + gradual emancipation favored, 107, 108. + + Smith, Colonel, + letter of Washington to, ii. 340. + + Spain, + instigates Indians to hostilities, ii. 89, 94, 101; + blocks Mississippi, 135; + makes treaty with Pinckney opening Mississippi, 167, 168; + angered at Jay treaty, 210. + + Sparks, Jared, + his alterations of Washington's letters, ii. 337, 338. + + Spotswood, Alexander, + asks Washington's opinion of Alien and Sedition Acts, ii. 297. + + Stamp Act, + Washington's opinion of, i. 119, 120. + + Stark, General, + leads attack at Trenton, i. 181. + + States, in the Revolutionary war, + appeals of Washington to, i. 142, 186, 204, 259, 277, 295, 306, 323, + 324, 326, 344; + issue paper money, 258; + grow tired of the war, 290; + alarmed by mutinies, 294; + try to appease soldiers, 295, 296; + their selfishness condemned by Washington, 333; ii. 21, 23; + thwart Indian policy of Congress, 88. + + Stephen, Adam, + late in attacking at Germantown, i. 199. + + Steuben, Baron, + Washington's appreciation of, i. 192, 249; + drills the army at Valley Forge, 232; + annoys Washington by wishing higher command, 249; + sent on mission to demand surrender of Western posts, 343; + his worth recognized by Washington, ii. 334. + + Stirling, Lord, + defeated and captured at Long Island, i. 165. + + Stockton, Mrs., + letter of Washington to, ii. 349. + + Stone, General, + tells stories of Washington's closeness, ii. 353, 354. + + Stuart, David, + letters of Washington to, ii. 107, 221, 222, 258. + + Stuart, Gilbert, + his portrait of Washington contrasted with Savage's, i. 13. + + Sullivan, John, General, + surprised at Long Island, i. 165; + attacks at Trenton, 180; + surprised and crushed at Brandywine, 197, 198; + unites with D'Estaing to attack Newport, 243; + angry at D'Estaing's desertion, 244; + soothed by Washington, 244; + sent against Indians, 266, 269. + + Supreme Court, + appointed by Washington, ii. 72. + + + TAFT,----, + kindness of Washington toward, ii. 367. + + Talleyrand, + eulogistic report to Napoleon on death of Washington, i. 1, note; + remark on Hamilton, ii. 139; + refused reception by Washington, 253. + + Tarleton, Sir Banastre, + tries to escape at Yorktown, i. 317. + + Thatcher, Dr., + on Washington's appearance when taking command of army, i. 137. + + Thomson, Charles, + complimented by Washington on retiring from secretary-ship of + Continental Congress, ii. 350. + + Tories, + hated by Washington, i. 156; + his reasons, 157; + active in New York, 158; + suppressed by Washington, 159; + in Philadelphia, impressed by Continental army, 196; + make raids on frontier, 266; + strong in Southern States, 267; + raids under Tryon, 269. + + Trent, Captain, + his incompetence in dealing with Indians and French, i. 72. + + Trenton, campaign of, i. 180-183. + + Trumbull, Governor, + letter of Washington to, refusing to stand for a third term, + ii. 269-271; + other letters, 298. + + Trumbull, John, + on New England army before Boston, i. 139. + + Trumbull, Jonathan, + his message on better government praised by Washington, ii. 21; + letters to, 42; + Washington's friendship for, 363. + + Tryon, Governor, + Tory leader in New York, i. 143; + his intrigues stopped by Washington, 158, 159; + conspires to murder Washington, 160; + makes raids in Connecticut, 269. + + + VALLEY FORGE, + Continental Army at, i. 228-232. + + Van Braam, Jacob, + friend of Lawrence Washington, trains George in fencing, i. 65; + accompanies him on mission to French, 66. + + Vergennes, + requests release of Asgill, i. 329, 330; + letter of Washington to, 330; + proposes to submit disposition of a subsidy to Washington, 332. + + Virginia, society in, + before the Revolution, i. 15-29; + its entire change since then, 15, 16; + population, distribution, and numbers, 17, 18; + absence of towns, 18; + and town life, 19; + trade and travel in, 19; + social classes, 20-24; + slaves and poor whites, 20; + clergy, 21; + planters and their estates, 22; + their life, 22; + education, 23; + habits of governing, 24; + luxury and extravagance, 25; + apparent wealth, 26; + agreeableness of life, 27; + aristocratic ideals, 28; + vigor of stock, 29; + unwilling to fight French, 71; + quarrels with Dinwiddie, 71; + thanks Washington after his French campaign, 79; + terrified at Braddock's defeat, 88; + gives Washington command, 89; + fails to support him, 89, 90, 93; + bad economic conditions in, 104,105; + local government in, 117; + condemns Stamp Act, 119; + adopts non-importation, 121; + condemns Boston Port Bill, 123; + asks opinion of counties, 124; + chooses delegates to a congress, 127; + prepares for war, 132; + British campaign in, 307, 315-318; + ratifies Constitution, ii. 40; + evil effect of free trade upon, 116, 117; + nullification resolutions, 266; + strength of its aristocracy, 315. + + + WADE, COLONEL, + in command at West Point after Arnold's flight, i. 285. + + Walker, Benjamin, + letter of Washington to, ii. 257. + + Warren, James, + letters of Washington to, i. 262, ii. 118. + + Washington, + ancestry, i. 30-40; + early genealogical researches concerning, 30-32; + pedigree finally established, 32; + origin of family, 33; + various members during middle ages, 34; + on royalist side in English civil war, 34, 36; + character of family, 35; + emigration to Virginia, 35, 36; + career of Washingtons in Maryland, 37; + in Virginia history, 38; + their estates, 39. + + Washington, Augustine, father of George Washington, + birth, i. 35; + death, 39; + character, 39; + his estate, 41; + ridiculous part played by in Weems's anecdotes, 44, 47. + + Washington, Augustine, half brother of George Washington, + keeps him after his father's death, i. 48. + + Washington, Bushrod, + refused appointment as attorney by Washington, ii. 62; + educated by him, 370. + + Washington, George, + honors to his memory in France, i. 1; + in England, 2; + grief in America, 3, 4; + general admission of his greatness, 4; + its significance, 5, 6; + tributes from England, 6; + from other countries, 6, 7; + yet an "unknown" man, 7; + minuteness of knowledge concerning, 8; + has become subject of myths, 9; + development of the Weems myth about, 10, 11; + necessity of a new treatment of, 12; + significant difference of real and ideal portraits of, 13; + his silence regarding himself, 14; + underlying traits, 14. + + _Early Life_. + Ancestry, 30-41; + birth, 39; + origin of Weems's anecdotes about, 41-44; + their absurdity and evil results, 45-48; + early schooling, 48; + plan to send him to sea, 49, 50; + studies to be a surveyor, 51; + his rules of behavior, 52; + his family connections with Fairfaxes, 54, 55; + his friendship with Lord Fairfax, 56; + surveys Fairfax's estate, 57, 58, 59; + made public surveyor, 60; + his life at the time, 60, 61; + influenced by Fairfax's cultivation, 62; + goes to West Indies with his brother, 62; + has the small-pox, 63; + observations on the voyage, 63, 64; + returns to Virginia, 64; + becomes guardian of his brother's daughter, 64. + + _Service against the French and Indians_. + Receives military training, 65; + a military appointment, 66; + goes on expedition to treat with French, 66; + meets Indians, 67; + deals with French, 67; + dangers of journey, 68; + his impersonal account, 69, 70; + appointed to command force against French, 71, 72; + his anger at neglect of Virginia Assembly, 73; + attacks and defeats force of Jumonville, 74; + called murderer by the French, 74; + surrounded by French at Great Meadows, 76; + surrenders, 76; + recklessness of his expedition, 77, 78; + effect of experience upon, 79; + gains a European notoriety, 79; + thanked by Virginia, 79; + protests against Dinwiddie's organization of soldiers, 80; + refuses to serve when ranked by British officers, 81; + accepts position on Braddock's staff, 82; + his treatment there, 82; + advises Braddock, 84; + rebuked for warning against surprise, 85; + his bravery in the battle, 86; + conducts retreat, 86, 87; + effect of experience on him, 87; + declines to solicit command of Virginia troops, 88; + accepts it when offered, 88; + his difficulties with Assembly, 89; + and with troops, 90; + settles question of rank, 91; + writes freely in criticism of government, 91, 92; + retires for rest to Mt. Vernon, 93; + offers services to General Forbes, 93; + irritated at slowness of English, 93, 94; + his love affairs, 95, 96; + journey to Boston, 97-101; + at festivities in New York and Philadelphia, 99; + meets Martha Custis, 101; + his wedding, 101, 102; + elected to House of Burgesses, 102; + confused at being thanked by Assembly, 102; + his local position, 103; + tries to farm his estate, 104; + his management of slaves, 105, 106, 108, 109; + cares for interests of old soldiers, 109; + rebukes a coward, 110; + cares for education of stepson, 111; + his furnishing of house, 112; + hunting habits, 113-115; + punishes a poacher, 116; + participates in colonial and local government, 117; + enters into society, 117, 118. + + _Congressional delegate from Virginia_. + His influence in Assembly, 119; + discusses Stamp Act with Mason, 119; + foresees result to be independence, 119; + rejoices at its repeal, but notes Declaratory Act, 120; + ready to use force to defend colonial rights, 120; + presents non-importation resolutions to Burgesses, 121; + abstains from English products, 121; + notes ominous movements among Indians, 122; + on good terms with royal governors, 122, 123; + observes fast on account of Boston Port Bill, 123; + has controversy with Bryan Fairfax over Parliamentary policy, + 124, 125, 126; + presides at Fairfax County meeting, 126; + declares himself ready for action, 126; + at convention of counties, offers to march to relief of Boston, 127; + elected to Continental Congress, 127; + his journey, 128; + silent in Congress, 129; + writes to a British officer that independence is not + desired, but war is certain, 130, 131; + returns to Virginia, 132; + aids in military preparations, 132; + his opinion after Concord, 133; + at second Continental Congress, wears uniform, 134; + made commander-in-chief, 134; + his modesty and courage in accepting position, 134, 135; + political motives for his choice, 135; + his popularity, 136; + his journey to Boston, 136, 137; + receives news of Bunker Hill, 136; + is received by Massachusetts Provincial Assembly, 137. + + _Commander of the Army_. + Takes command at Cambridge, 137; + his impression upon people, 137, 138, 139; + begins reorganization of army, 139; + secures number of troops, 140; + enforces discipline, his difficulties, 140, 141; + forced to lead Congress, 142; + to arrange rank of officers, 142; + organizes privateers, 142; + discovers lack of powder, 143; + plans campaigns in Canada and elsewhere, 143, 144; + his plans of attack on Boston overruled by council of war, 144; + writes to Gage urging that captives be treated as prisoners of war, + 145; + skill of his letter, 146; + retorts to Gage's reply, 147; + continues dispute with Howe, 148; + annoyed by insufficiency of provisions, 149; + and by desertions, 149; + stops quarrel between Virginia and Marblehead soldiers, 149; + suggests admiralty committees, 150; + annoyed by army contractors, 150; + and criticism, 151; + letter to Joseph Reed, 151; + occupies Dorchester Heights, 152; + begins to like New England men better, 152; + rejoices at prospect of a fight, 153; + departure of British due to his leadership, 154; + sends troops immediately to New York, 155; + enters Boston, 156; + expects a hard war, 156; + urges upon Congress the necessity of preparing for a long struggle, + 156; + his growing hatred of Tories, 156, 157; + goes to New York, 157, 158; + difficulties of the situation, 158; + suppresses Tories, 159; + urges Congress to declare independence, 159, 160; + discovers and punishes a conspiracy to assassinate, 160; + insists on his title in correspondence with Howe, 161; + justice of his position, 162; + quiets sectional jealousies in army, 162; + his military inferiority to British, 163; + obliged by political considerations to attempt defense of New York, + 163, 164; + assumes command on Long Island, 164; + sees defeat of his troops, 165; + sees plan of British fleet to cut off retreat, 166; + secures retreat of army, 167; + explains his policy of avoiding a pitched battle, 167; + anger at flight of militia at Kip's Bay, 168; + again secures safe retreat, 169; + secures slight advantage in a skirmish, 170; + continues to urge Congress to action, 170, 171; + success of his letters in securing a permanent army, 171; + surprised by advance of British fleet, 172; + moves to White Plains, 173; + blocks British advance, 174; + advises abandonment of American forts, 174; + blames himself for their capture, 175; + leads diminishing army through New Jersey, 175; + makes vain appeals for aid, 176; + resolves to take the offensive, 177; + desperateness of his situation, 178; + pledges his estate and private fortune to raise men, 179; + orders disregarded by officers, 180; + crosses Delaware and captures Hessians, 180, 181; + has difficulty in retaining soldiers, 181; + repulses Cornwallis at Assunpink, 181; + outwits Cornwallis and wins battle at Princeton, 182; + excellence of his strategy, 183; + effect of this campaign in saving Revolution, 183, 184; + withdraws to Morristown, 185; + fluctuations in size of army, 186; + his determination to keep the field, 186, 187; + criticised by Congress for not fighting, 187; + hampered by Congressional interference, 188; + issues proclamation requiring oath of allegiance, 188; + attacked in Congress for so doing, 189; + annoyed by Congressional alterations of rank, 189; + and by foreign military adventurers, 191; + value of his services in suppressing them, 192; + his American feelings, 191, 193; + warns Congress in vain that Howe means to attack Philadelphia, 193; + baffles Howe's advance across New Jersey, 195; + learning of his sailing, marches to defend Philadelphia, 195; + offers battle at Brandywine, 196, 197; + out-generaled and beaten, 197; + rallies army and prepares to fight again, 198; + prevented by storm, 199; + attacks British at Germantown, 199; + defeated, 200; + exposes himself in battle, 200; + real success of his action, 201; + despised by English, 202; + foresees danger of Burgoyne's invasion, 203; + sends instructions to Schuyler, 204; + urges use of New England and New York militia, 304; + dreads northern advance of Howe, 205; + determines to hold him at all hazards, 206, 207; + not cast down by loss of Ticonderoga, 207; + urges New England to rise, 208; + sends all possible troops, 208; + refuses to appoint a commander for Northern army, 208; + his probable reasons, 209; + continues to send suggestions, 210; + slighted by Gates after Burgoyne's surrender, 211; + rise of opposition in Congress, 212; + arouses ill-feeling by his frankness, 212, 213; + distrusted by Samuel and John Adams, 214; + by others, 214, 215; + formation of a plan to supplant him by Gates, 215; + opposed by Gates, Mifflin, and Conway, 215, 216; + angers Conway by preventing his increase in rank, 216; + is refused troops by Gates, 217; + defends and loses Delaware forts, 217; + refuses to attack Howe, 218; + propriety of his action, 219; + becomes aware of cabal, 220; + alarms them by showing extent of his knowledge, 221; + attacked bitterly in Congress, 222; + insulted by Gates, 223; + refuses to resign, 224; + refuses to notice cabal publicly, 224; + complains privately of slight support from Pennsylvania, 225; + continues to push Gates for explanations, 226; + regains complete control after collapse of cabal, 226, 227; + withdraws to Valley Forge, 227; + desperation of his situation, 228; + criticised by Pennsylvania legislature for going into winter quarters, + 229; + his bitter reply, 229; + his unbending resolution, 230; + continues to urge improvements in army organization, 231; + manages to hold army together, 232; + sends Lafayette to watch Philadelphia, 233; + determines to fight, 234; + checked by Lee, 234; + pursues Clinton, 235; + orders Lee to attack British rearguard, 235; + discovers his force retreating, 236; + rebukes Lee and punishes him, 236, 237; + takes command and stops retreat, 237; + repulses British and assumes offensive, 238; + success due to his work at Valley Forge, 239; + celebrates French alliance, 241; + has to confront difficulty of managing allies, 241, 242; + welcomes D'Estaing, 243; + obliged to quiet recrimination after Newport failure, 244; + his letter to Sullivan, 244; + to Lafayette, 245; + to D'Estaing, 246; + tact and good effect of his letters, 246; + offers to cooperate in an attack on New York, 247; + furnishes admirable suggestions to D'Estaing, 247; + not dazzled by French, 248; + objects to giving rank to foreign officers, 248, 249; + opposes transfer of Steuben from inspectorship to the line, 249; + his thoroughly American position, 250; + absence of provinciality, 251, 252; + a national leader, 252; + opposes invasion of Canada, 253; + foresees danger of its recapture by France, 254, 255; + his clear understanding of French motives, 255, 256; + rejoices in condition of patriot cause, 257; + foresees ruin to army in financial troubles, 258; + has to appease mutinies among unpaid troops, 258; + appeals to Congress, 259; + urges election of better delegates to Congress, 259; + angry with speculators, 260, 261; + futility of his efforts, 261, 262; + his increasing alarm at social demoralization, 263; + effect of his exertions, 264; + conceals his doubts of the French, 264; + watches New York, 264; + keeps dreading an English campaign, 265; + labors with Congress to form a navy, 266; + plans expedition to chastise Indians, 266; + realizes that things are at a standstill in the North, 267; + sees danger to lie in the South, but determines to remain himself near + New York, 267; + not consulted by Congress in naming general for Southern army, 268; + plans attack on Stony Point, 268; + hatred of ravaging methods of British warfare, 270; + again has great difficulties in winter quarters, 270; + unable to act on offensive in the spring, 270, 272; + unable to help South, 272; + advises abandonment of Charleston, 273; + learns of arrival of French army, 274; + plans a number of enterprises with it, 275, 276; + refuses, even after loss of Charleston, to abandon Hudson, 276; + welcomes Rochambeau, 277; + writes to Congress against too optimistic feelings, 278, 279; + has extreme difficulty in holding army together, 280; + urges French to attack New York, 280; + sends Maryland troops South after Camden, 281; + arranges meeting with Rochambeau at Hartford, 282; + popular enthusiasm over him, 283; + goes to West Point, 284; + surprised at Arnold's absence, 284; + learns of his treachery, 284, 285; + his cool behavior, 285; + his real feelings, 286; + his conduct toward Andre, 287; + its justice, 287, 288; + his opinion of Arnold, 288, 289; + his responsibility in the general breakdown of the Congress and army, + 290; + obliged to quell food mutinies in army, 291, 292; + difficulty of situation, 292; + his influence the salvation of army, 293; + his greatness best shown in this way, 293; + rebukes Congress, 294; + appoints Greene to command Southern army, 295; + sends Knox to confer with state governors, 296; + secures temporary relief for army, 296; + sees the real defect is in weak government, 296; + urges adoption of Articles of Confederation, 297; + works for improvements in executive, 298,299; + still keeps a Southern movement in mind, 301; + unable to do anything through lack of naval power, 303; + rebukes Lund Washington for entertaining British at Mt. Vernon, 303; + still unable to fight, 304; + tries to frighten Clinton into remaining in New York, 305; + succeeds with aid of Rochambeau, 306; + explains his plan to French and to Congress, 306; + learns of De Grasse's approach, prepares to move South, 306; + writes to De Grasse to meet him in Chesapeake, 308; + fears a premature peace, 308; + pecuniary difficulties, 309; + absolute need of command of sea, 310; + persuades De Barras to join De Grasse, 311; + starts on march for Chesapeake, 311; + hampered by lack of supplies, 312; + and by threat of Congress to reduce army, 313; + passes through Mt. Vernon, 314; + succeeds in persuading De Grasse not to abandon him, 315; + besieges Cornwallis, 315; + sees capture of redoubts, 316; + receives surrender of Cornwallis, 317; + admirable strategy and management of campaign, 318; + his personal influence the cause of success, 318; + especially his use of the fleet, 319; + his management of Cornwallis through Lafayette, 319; + his boldness in transferring army away from New York, 320; + does not lose his head over victory, 321; + urges De Grasse to repeat success against Charleston, 322; + returns north, 322; + saddened by death of Custis, 322; + continues to urge Congress to action, 323; + writes letters to the States, 323; + does not expect English surrender, 324; + urges renewed vigor, 324; + points out that war actually continues, 325; + urges not to give up army until peace is actually secured, 325; + failure of his appeals, 326; + reduced to inactivity, 326; + angered at murder of Huddy, 327; + threatens Carleton with retaliation, 328; + releases Asgill at request of Vergennes and order of Congress, + 329, 330; + disclaims credit, 330; + justification of his behavior, 330; + his tenderness toward the soldiers, 331; + jealousy of Congress toward him, 332; + warns Congress of danger of further neglect of army, 333, 334; + takes control of mutinous movement, 335; + his address to the soldiers, 336; + its effect, 336; + movement among soldiers to make him dictator, 337; + replies to revolutionary proposals, 337; + reality of the danger, 339; + causes for his behaviour, 340, 341; + a friend of strong government, but devoid of personal ambition, 342; + chafes under delay to disband army, 343; + tries to secure Western posts, 343; + makes a journey through New York, 343; + gives Congress excellent but futile advice, 344; + issues circular letter to governors, 344; + and farewell address to army, 345; + enters New York after departure of British, 345; + his farewell to his officers, 345; + adjusts his accounts, 346; + appears before Congress, 347; + French account of his action, 347; + makes speech resigning commission, 348, 349. + + _In Retirement_. + Returns to Mt. Vernon, ii. I; + tries to resume old life, 2; + gives up hunting, 2; + pursued by lion-hunters and artists, 3; + overwhelmed with correspondence, 3; + receives letters from Europe, 4; + from cranks, 4; + from officers, 4; + his share in Society of Cincinnati, 4; + manages his estate, 5; + visits Western lands, 5; + family cares, 5, 6; + continues to have interest in public affairs, 6; + advises Congress regarding peace establishment, 6; + urges acquisition of Western posts, 7; + his broad national views, 7; + alone in realizing future greatness of country, 7, 8; + appreciates importance of the West, 8; + urges development of inland navigation, 9; + asks Jefferson's aid, 9, 10; + lays canal scheme before Virginia legislature, 10; + his arguments, 10; + troubled by offer of stock, 11; + uses it to endow two schools, 12; + significance of his scheme, 12, 13; + his political purposes in binding West to East, 13; + willing to leave Mississippi closed for this purpose, 14, 15, 16; + feels need of firmer union during Revolution, 17; + his arguments, 18, 19; + his influence starts movement for reform, 20; + continues to urge it during retirement, 21; + foresees disasters of confederation, 21; + urges impost scheme, 22; + condemns action of States, 22, 23, 25; + favours commercial agreement between Maryland and Virginia, 23; + stung by contempt of foreign powers, 24; + his arguments for a national government, 24; + points out designs of England, 25; + works against paper money craze in States, 26; + his opinion of Shays's rebellion, 26; + his position contrasted with Jefferson's, 27; + influence of his letters, 28, 29; + shrinks from participating in Federal convention, 29; + elected unanimously, 30; + refuses to go to a feeble convention, 30, 31; + finally makes up his mind, 31. + + _In the Federal Convention_. + Speech attributed to Washington by Morris on duties of delegates, + 31, 32; + chosen to preside, 33; + takes no part in debate, 34; + his influence in convention, 34, 35; + despairs of success, 35; + signs the Constitution, 36; + words attributed to him, 36; + silent as to his thoughts, 36, 37; + sees clearly danger of failure to ratify, 37; + tries at first to act indifferently, 38; + begins to work for ratification, 38; + writes letters to various people, 38, 39; + circulates copies of "Federalist," 40; + saves ratification in Virginia, 40; + urges election of Federalists to Congress, 41; + receives general request to accept presidency, 41; + his objections, 41, 42; + dreads failure and responsibility, 42; + elected, 42; + his journey to New York, 42-46; + speech at Alexandria, 43; + popular reception at all points, 44, 45; + his feelings, 46; + his inauguration, 46. + + _President_. + His speech to Congress, 48; + urges no specific policy, 48, 49; + his solemn feelings, 49; + his sober view of necessities of situation, 50; + question of his title, 52; + arranges to communicate with Senate by writing, 52, 53; + discusses social etiquette, 53; + takes middle ground, 54; + wisdom of his action, 55; + criticisms by Democrats, 55, 56; + accused of monarchical leanings, 56, 57; + familiarizes himself with work already accomplished under + Confederation, 58; + his business habits, 58; + refuses special privileges to French minister, 59, 60; + skill of his reply, 60, 61; + solicited for office, 61; + his views on appointment, 62; + favors friends of Constitution and old soldiers, 62; + success of his appointments, 63; + selects a cabinet, 64; + his regard for Knox 65; + for Morris, 66; + his skill in choosing, 66; + his appreciation of Hamilton, 67; + his grounds for choosing Jefferson, 68; + his contrast with Jefferson, 69; + his choice a mistake in policy, 70; + his partisan characteristics, 70, 71; + excludes anti-Federalists, 71; + nominates justices of Supreme Court, 72; + their party character, 73; + illness, 73; + visits the Eastern States, 73; + his reasons, 74; + stirs popular enthusiasm, 74; + snubbed by Hancock in Massachusetts, 75; + accepts Hancock's apology, 75; + importance of his action, 76; + success of journey, 76; + opens Congress, 78, 79; + his speech and its recommendations, 81; + how far carried out, 81-83; + national character of the speech, 83; + his fitness to deal with Indians, 87; + his policy, 88; + appoints commission to treat with Creeks, 90; + ascribes its failure to Spanish intrigue, 90; + succeeds by a personal interview in making treaty, 91; + wisdom of his policy, 92; + orders an expedition against Western Indians, 93; + angered at its failure, 94; + and at conduct of frontiersmen, 94; + prepares St. Clair's expedition, 95; + warns against ambush, 95; + hopes for decisive results, 97; + learns of St. Clair's defeat, 97; + his self-control, 97; + his outburst of anger against St. Clair, 97, 98; + masters his feelings, 98; + treats St. Clair kindly, 99; + determines on a second campaign, 100; + selects Wayne and other officers, 100; + tries to secure peace with tribes, 101; + efforts prevented by English influence, 101, 102; + and in South by conduct of Georgia, 103; + general results of his Indian policy, 104; + popular misunderstandings and criticism, 104, 105; + favors assumption of state debts by the government, 107, 108; + satisfied with bargain between Hamilton and Jefferson, 108; + his respectful attitude toward Constitution, 109; + asks opinions of cabinet on constitutionality of bank, 110; + signs bill creating it, 110; + reasons for his decision, 111; + supports Hamilton's financial policy, 112; + supports Hamilton's views on protection, 115, 116; + appreciates evil economic condition of Virginia, 116, 117; + sees necessity for self-sufficient industries in war time, 117; + urges protection, 118, 119, 120; + his purpose to build up national feeling, 121; + approves national excise tax, 122, 123; + does not realize unpopularity of method, 123; + ready to modify but insists on obedience, 124, 125; + issues proclamation against rioters, 125; + since Pennsylvania frontier continues rebellious, issues second + proclamation threatening to use force, 127; + calls out the militia, 127; + his advice to leaders and troops, 128; + importance of Washington's firmness, 129; + his good judgment and patience, 130; + decides success of the central authority, 130; + early advocacy of separation of United States from European politics, + 133; + studies situation, 134, 135; + sees importance of binding West with Eastern States, 135; + sees necessity of good relations with England, 137; + authorizes Morris to sound England as to exchange of ministers and a + commercial treaty, 137; + not disturbed by British bad manners, 138; + succeeds in establishing diplomatic relations, 138; + early foresees danger of excess in French Revolution, 139, 140; + states a policy of strict neutrality, 140, 142, 143; + difficulties of his situation, 142; + objects to action of National Assembly on tobacco and oil, 144; + denies reported request by United States that England mediate with + Indians, 145; + announces neutrality in case of a European war, 146; + instructs cabinet to prepare a neutrality proclamation, 147; + importance of this step not understood at time, 148, 149; + foresees coming difficulties, 149, 150; + acts cautiously toward _emigres_, 151; + contrast with Genet, 152; + greets him coldly, 152; + orders steps taken to prevent violations of neutrality, 153, 154; + retires to Mt. Vernon for rest, 154; + on returning finds Jefferson has allowed Little Sarah to escape, 156; + writes a sharp note to Jefferson, 156; + anger at escape, 157; + takes matters out of Jefferson's hands, 157; + determines on asking recall of Genet, 158; + revokes exequatur of Duplaine, French consul, 159; + insulted by Genet, 159, 160; + refuses to deny Jay's card, 160; + upheld by popular feeling, 160; + his annoyance at the episode, 160; + obliged to teach American people self-respect, 162, 163; + deals with troubles incited by Genet in the West, 162, 163; + sympathizes with frontiersmen, 163; + comprehends value of Mississippi, 164, 165; + sends a commission to Madrid to negotiate about free navigation, 166; + later sends Thomas Pinckney, 166; + despairs of success, 166; + apparent conflict between French treaties and neutrality, 169, 170; + value of Washington's policy to England, 171; + in spite of England's attitude, intends to keep peace, 177; + wishes to send Hamilton as envoy, 177; + after his refusal appoints Jay, 177; + fears that England intends war, 178; + determines to be prepared, 178; + urges upon Jay the absolute necessity of England's giving up Western + posts, 179; + dissatisfied with Jay treaty but willing to sign it, 184; + in doubt as to meaning of conditional ratification, 184; + protests against English "provision order" and refuses signature, 185; + meets uproar against treaty alone, 188; + determines to sign, 189; + answers resolutions of Boston town meeting, 190; + refuses to abandon his judgment to popular outcry, 190; + distinguishes temporary from permanent feeling, 191; + fears effect of excitement upon French government, 192; + his view of dangers of situation, 193, 194; + recalled to Philadelphia by cabinet, 195; + receives intercepted correspondence of Fauchet, 195, 196; + his course of action already determined, 197, 198; + not influenced by the Fauchet letter, 198; + evidence of this, 199, 200; + reasons for ratifying before showing letter to Randolph, 199, 200; + signs treaty, 201; + evidence that he did not sacrifice Randolph, 201, 202; + fairness of his action, 203; + refuses to reply to Randolph's attack, 204; + reasons for signing treaty, 205; + justified in course of time, 206; + refuses on constitutional grounds the call of representatives for + documents, 208; + insists on independence of treaty-making by executive and Senate, 209; + overcomes hostile majority in House, 210; + wishes Madison to succeed Morris at Paris, 211; + appoints Monroe, 216; + his mistake in not appointing a political supporter, 212; + disgusted at Monroe's behavior, 213, 214; + recalls Monroe and appoints C.C. Pinckney, 214; + angered at French policy, 214; + his contempt for Monroe's self-justification, 215, 216; + review of foreign policy, 216-219; + his guiding principle national independence, 216; + and abstention from European politics, 217; + desires peace and time for growth, 217, 218; + wishes development of the West, 218, 219; + wisdom of his policy, 219; + considers parties dangerous, 220; + but chooses cabinet from Federalists, 220; + prepared to undergo criticism, 221; + willingness to bear it, 221; + desires to learn public feeling, by travels, 221, 222; + feels that body of people will support national government, 222; + sees and deplores sectional feelings in the South, 222, 223; + objects to utterances of newspapers, 223; + attacked by "National Gazette," 227; + receives attacks on Hamilton from Jefferson and his friends, 228, 229; + sends charges to Hamilton, 229; + made anxious by signs of party division, 229; + urges both Hamilton and Jefferson to cease quarrel, 230, 231; + dreads an open division in cabinet, 232; + desirous to rule without party, 233; + accomplishes feat of keeping both secretaries in cabinet, 233; + keeps confidence in Hamilton, 234; + urged by all parties to accept presidency again, 235; + willing to be reelected, 235; + pleased at unanimous vote, 235; + his early immunity from attacks, 237; + later attacked by Freneau and Bache, 238; + regards opposition as dangerous to country, 239; + asserts his intention to disregard them, 240; + his success in Genet affair, 241; + disgusted at "democratic" societies, 242; + thinks they fomented Whiskey Rebellion, 242; + denounces them to Congress, 243; + effect of his remarks, 244; + accused of tyranny after Jay treaty, 244; + of embezzlement, 245; + of aristocracy, 245; + realizes that he must compose cabinet of sympathizers, 246; + reconstructs it, 246; + states determination to govern by party, 247; + slighted by House, 247; + refuses a third term, 248; + publishes Farewell Address, 248; + his justification for so doing, 248; + his wise advice, 249; + address Attacked by Democrats, 250, 251; + assailed in Congress by Giles, 251; + resents charge of being a British sympathizer, 252; + his scrupulously fair conduct toward France, 253; + his resentment at English policy, 254; + his retirement celebrated by the opposition, 255; + remarks of the "Aurora," 256; + forged letters of British circulated, 257; + he repudiates them, 257; + his view of opposition, 259. + + _In Retirement_. + Regards Adams's administration as continuation of his own, 259; + understands Jefferson's attitude, 259; + wishes generals of provisional army to be Federalist, 260; + doubts fidelity of opposition as soldiers, 260; + dreads their poisoning mind of army, 261; + his condemnation of Democrats, 261, 262; + snubs Dr. Logan for assuming an unofficial mission to France, 263-265; + alarmed at Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, 266; + urges Henry to oppose Virginia resolutions, 267; + condemns the French party as unpatriotic, 267; + refuses request to stand again for presidency, 269; + comments on partisanship of Democrats, 269; + believes that he would be no better candidate than any other + Federalist, 270, 271; + error of statement that Washington was not a party man, 271, 272; + slow to relinquish non-partisan position, 272; + not the man to shrink from declaring his position, 273; + becomes a member of Federalist party, 273, 274; + eager for end of term of office, 275; + his farewell dinner, 275; + at Adams's inauguration, 276; + popular enthusiasm at Philadelphia, 276; + at Baltimore, 277; + returns to Mt. Vernon, 279; + describes his farm life, 278, 279; + burdened by necessities of hospitality, 280; + account of his meeting with Bernard, 281-283; + continued interest in politics, 284; + accepts command of provisional army, 285; + selects Hamilton, Pinckney, and Knox as major-generals, 286; + surprised at Adams's objection to Hamilton, 286; + rebukes Adams for altering order of rank of generals, 286, 287; + not influenced by intrigue, 287; + annoyed by Adams's conduct, 288; + tries to soothe Knox's irritation, 289; + fails to pacify him, 289; + carries out organization of army, 290; + does not expect actual war, 291; + disapproves of Gerry's conduct, 292; + disapproves of Adams's nomination of Vans Murray, 292; + his dread of French Revolution, 295; + distrusts Adams's attempts at peace, 296; + approves Alien and Sedition laws, 296; + his defense of them, 297; + distressed by dissensions among Federalists, 298; + predicts their defeat, 298; + his sudden illness, 299-302; + death, 303. + + _Character_, + misunderstood, 304; + extravagantly praised, 304; + disliked on account of being called faultless, 305; + bitterly attacked in lifetime, 306; + sneered at by Jefferson, 306; + by Pickering, 307; + called an Englishman, not an American, 307, 308; + difference of his type from that of Lincoln, 310; + none the less American, 311, 312; + compared with Hampden, 312; + his manners those of the times elsewhere in America, 314; + aristocratic, but of a non-English type, 314-316; + less affected by Southern limitations than his neighbors, 316; + early dislike of New England changed to respect, 316, 317; + friendly with people of humble origin, 317, 318; + never an enemy of democracy, 318; + but opposes French excesses, 318; + his self-directed and American training, 319, 320; + early conception of a nation, 321; + works toward national government during Revolution, 321; + his interest in Western expansion, 321, 322; + national character of his Indian policy, 322; + of his desire to secure free Mississippi navigation, 322; + of his opposition to war as a danger to Union, 323; + his anger at accusation of foreign subservience, 323; + continually asserts necessity for independent American policy, + 324, 325; + opposes foreign educational influences, 325, 326; + favors foundation of a national university, 326; + breadth and strength of his national feeling, 327; + absence of boastfulness about country, 328; + faith in it, 328; + charge that he was merely a figure-head, 329; + its injustice, 330; + charged with commonplaceness of intellect, 330; + incident of the deathbed explained, 330, 331; + falsity of the charge, 331; + inability of mere moral qualities to achieve what he did, 331; + charged with dullness and coldness, 332; + his seriousness, 333; + responsibility from early youth, 333; + his habits of keen observation, 333; + power of judging men, 334; + ability to use them for what they were worth, 335; + anecdote of advice to Hamilton and Meade, 335; + deceived only by Arnold, 336; + imperfect education, 337; + continual efforts to improve it, 337, 338; + modest regarding his literary ability, 339, 340; + interested in education, 339; + character of his writing, 340; + tastes in reading, 341; + modest but effective in conversation, 342; + his manner and interest described by Bernard, 343-347; + attractiveness of the picture, 347, 348; + his pleasure in society, 348; + power of paying compliments, letter to Mrs. Stockton, 349; + to Charles Thompson, 350; + to De Chastellux, 351; + his warmth of heart, 352; + extreme exactness in pecuniary matters, 352; + illustrative anecdotes, 353,354; + favorable opinion of teller of anecdotes, 356; + stern towards dishonesty or cowardice, 357; + treatment of Andre and Asgill, 357, 358; + sensitive to human suffering, 357, 358; + kind and courteous to poor, 359; + conversation with Cleaveland, 359; + sense of dignity in public office, 360; + hospitality at Mt. Vernon, 360, 361; + his intimate friendships, 361,362; + relations with Hamilton, Knox, Mason, Henry Lee, Craik, 362, 363; + the officers of the army, 363; + Trumbull, Robert and Gouverneur Morris, 363; + regard for and courtesy toward Franklin, 364; + love for Lafayette, 365; + care for his family, 366; + lasting regard for Fairfaxes, 366, 367; + kindness to Taft family, 367, 368; + destroys correspondence with his wife, 368; + their devoted relationship, 368; + care for his step-children and relatives, 369, 370; + charged with lack of humor, 371; + but never made himself ridiculous, 372; + not joyous in temperament, 372; + but had keen pleasure in sport, 373; + enjoyed a joke, even during Revolution, 374; + appreciates wit, 375; + writes a humorous letter, 376-378; + not devoid of worldly wisdom, 378, 379; + enjoys cards, dancing, the theatre, 380; + loves horses, 380; + thorough in small affairs as well as great, 381; + controversy over site of church, 381; + his careful domestic economy, 382; + love of method, 383; + of excellence in dress and furniture, 383, 384; + gives dignity to American cause, 385; + his personal appearance, 385; + statements of Houdon, 386; + of Ackerson, 386, 387; + his tremendous muscular strength, 388; + great personal impressiveness, 389, 390; + lacking in imagination, 391; + strong passions, 391; + fierce temper, 392; + anecdotes of outbreaks, 392; + his absence of self-love, 393; + confident in judgment of posterity, 393; + religious faith, 394; + summary and conclusion, 394, 395. + + _Characteristics of_. + General view, ii. 304-395; + general admiration for, i. 1-7; + myths about, i. 9-12, ii. 307 ff.; + comparisons with Jefferson, ii. 69; + with Lincoln, ii. 310-312; + with Hampden, ii. 312, 313; + absence of self-seeking, i. 341; + affectionateness, i. 111, 285,331,345, ii. 332, 362-371; + agreeableness, ii. 344-347, 377; + Americanism, ii. 307-328; + aristocratic habits, ii. 314, 316; + business ability, i. 105, 109, ii. 5, 352, 382; + coldness on occasion, i. 223, 224, 263, ii. 318; + courage, i. 77, 78, 86, 127, 168, 292; + dignity, i. 81,161, ii. 52-57, 76; + hospitality, ii. 360; + impressiveness, i. 56, 83, 130, 138, 319, ii. 385; + indomitableness, i. 177, 181, 227; + judgments of men, i. 295, ii. 64, 86, 334, 335; + justice and sternness, i. 287, 330, ii. 203, 352-358, 389; + kindliness, ii. 349-356, 359; + lack of education, i. 62, ii. 337; + love of reading, i. 62, ii. 341, 342; + love of sport, i. 56, 98, 113-116, 118, ii. 380; + manners, ii. 282-283, 314; + military ability, i. 154, 166, 174, 183, 197, 204, 207, 239, 247, + 265, 267, 305-320, ii. 331; + modesty, i. 102, 134; + not a figure-head, ii. 329, 330; + not a prig, i. 10-12, 41-47; + not cold and inhuman, ii. 332, 342; + not dull or commonplace, ii. 330, 332; + not superhuman and distant, i. 9, 10, 12, ii. 304, 305; + open-mindedness, ii. 317; + passionateness, i. 58, 73, 90; + personal appearance, i. 57, 136, 137, ii. 282, 343, 385-389; + religious views, i. 321, ii. 393; + romantic traits, i. 95-97; + sense of humor, ii. 371-377; + silence regarding self, i. 14, 69, 70, 116, 129, 285; ii. 37, 336; + simplicity, i. 59, 69, 348; ii. 50, 340; + sobriety, i. 49, 52, 134; ii. 43, 45, 333, 373; + tact, i. 162, 243, 244-246; + temper, i. 73, 92, 110, 168, 236, 237, 260; ii. 98, 392; + thoroughness, i. 112, 323, 341, ii. 381. + + _Political Opinions_. + On Alien and Sedition Acts, ii. 196; + American nationality, i. 191, 250, 251, 255, 262, 279, ii. 7, 61, + 133, 145, 324, 325, 327, 328; + Articles of Confederation, i. 297, ii. 17, 24; + bank, ii. 110, 111; + colonial rights, i. 120, 124-126, 130; + Constitution, i. 38-41; + democracy, ii. 317-319; + Democratic party, ii. 214, 239, 240, 258, 261, 267, 268; + disunion, ii. 22; + duties of the executive, ii. 190; + education, ii. 81, 326, 330; + Federalist party, ii. 71, 246, 247, 259, 260, 261, 269-274, 298; + finance, ii. 107, 108, 112, 122; + foreign relations, ii. 25, 134, 142, 145, 147, 179, 217-219, 323; + French Revolution, ii. 139, 140, 295, 318; + independence of colonies, i. 131, 159, 160; + Indian policy, ii. 82, 87, 88, 91, 92, 104, 105; + Jay treaty, ii. 184-205; + judiciary, i. 150; + nominations to office, ii. 62; + party, ii. 70, 222, 233, 249; + protection, ii. 116-122; + slavery, i. 106-108; + Stamp Act, i. 119; + strong government, i. 298, ii. 18, 24, 129, 130; + treaty power, ii. 190, 207-210; + Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, ii. 266, 267; + Western expansion, ii. 6, 8-16, 135, 163-165, 218, 322. + + Washington, George Steptoe, + his sons educated by Washington, ii. 370. + + Washington, John, brother of George, + letter of Washington, to, i. 132. + + Washington, Lawrence, brother of George Washington, + educated in England, i. 54; + has military career, 54; + returns to Virginia and builds Mt. Vernon, 54; + marries into Fairfax family, 54, 55; + goes to West Indies for his health, 62; + dies, leaving George guardian of his daughter, 64; + chief manager of Ohio Company, 65; + gives George military education, 65. + + Washington, Lund, + letter of Washington to, i. 152; + rebuked by Washington for entertaining British, ii. 303. + + Washington, Martha, widow of Daniel P. Custis, + meets Washington, i. 101; + courtship of, and marriage, 101, 102; + hunts with her husband, 114; + joins him at Boston, 151; + holds levees as wife of President, ii. 54; + during his last illness, 300; + her correspondence destroyed, 368; + her relations with her husband, 368, 369. + + Washington, Mary, + married to Augustine Washington, i. 39; + mother of George Washington, 39; + limited education but strong character, 40, 41; + wishes George to earn a living, 49; + opposes his going to sea, 49; + letters to, 88; + visited by her son, ii. 5. + + Waters, Henry E., + establishes Washington pedigree, i. 32. + + Wayne, Anthony, + defeated after Brandywine, i. 198; + his opinion of Germantown, 199; + at Monmouth urges Washington to come, 235; + ready to attack Stony Point, 268; + his successful exploit, 269; + joins Lafayette in Virginia, 307; + appointed to command against Indians, ii. 100; + his character, 100; + organizes his force, 101; + his march, 102; + defeats the Indians, 103. + + Weems, Mason L., + influence of his life of Washington on popular opinion, i. 10; + originates idea of his priggishness, 11; + his character, 41, 43; + character of his book, 42; + his mythical "rectorate" of Mt. Vernon, 43, 44; + invents anecdotes of Washington's childhood, 44; + folly of cherry-tree and other stories, 46; + their evil influence, 47. + + West, the, + its importance realized by Washington, ii. 7-16; + his influence counteracted by inertia of Congress, 8; + forwards inland navigation, 9; + desires to bind East to West, 9-11, 14; + formation of companies, 11-13; + on Mississippi navigation, 14-16, 164; + projects of Genet in, 162; + its attitude understood by Washington, 163, 164; + Washington wishes peace in order to develop it, 218, 219, 321. + + "Whiskey Rebellion," + passage of excise law, ii. 123; + outbreaks of violence in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, 124; + proclamation issued warning rioters to desist, 125; + renewed outbreaks in Pennsylvania, 125, 126; + the militia called out, 127; + suppression of the insurrection, 128; + real danger of movement, 129; + its suppression emphasizes national authority, 129, 130; + supposed by Washington to have been stirred up by Democratic clubs, + 242. + + White Plains, + battle at, i. 173. + + Wilkinson, James, + brings Gates's message to Washington at Trenton, i. 180; + brings news of Saratoga to Congress, 220; + nettled at Sherman's sarcasm, discloses Conway cabal, 220; + quarrels with Gates, 223; + resigns from board of war, 223, 226; + leads expedition against Indians, ii. 95. + + Willett, Colonel, + commissioner to Creeks, his success, ii. 91. + + William and Mary College, + Washington Chancellor of, ii. 339. + + Williams, + Washington's teacher, i. 48, 51. + + Willis, Lewis, + story of Washington's school days, i. 95. + + Wilson, James, + appointed to Supreme Court, ii. 72. + + Wilson, James, "of England," + hunts with Washington, i. 115. + + Wolcott, Oliver, + receives Fauchet letter, ii. 195; + succeeds Hamilton as Secretary of Treasury, 246. + + Wooster, Mrs., + letter of Washington to, ii. 61. + + + YORKTOWN, + siege of, i. 315-318. + + "Young Man's Companion," + used by George Washington, origin of his rules of conduct, i. 52. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's George Washington, Vol. I, by Henry Cabot Lodge + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE WASHINGTON, VOL. 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