XXX. CHAP. Colonel Magaw, with the Pennsylvania troops, occupied Fort Washington. 1776. Nov. 16. With respect to maintaining Fort Washington, there was a diversity of opinion, as neither that fort nor the obstructions across the channel had prevented the passage of vessels up the Hudson. Washington, with Lee, Reed, and others, was in favor of withdrawing the troops at once. He addressed a letter to Greene, in which he advised this course, but left the matter to his discretion. Greene and Magaw, who were both on the spot, and knew the condition of the fort, decided that it could be maintained, and made preparations accordingly. This was, as the result proved, an injudicious decision. The post was comparatively useless; it was accessible on three sides from the water; the fort was very small, and would not contain more than a thousand men, the lines were very extensive, and the garrison insufficient to man them. Washington visited the posts along the river. When he arrived at Fort Lee, he was greatly disappointed to find that the troops had not been withdrawn from Fort Washington; and, before he could make a personal examination, the fort was invested. It was attacked on all sides. The garrison, after a brave resistance, which cost the enemy four hundred men, was driven from the outer lines, and crowded into the fort, where they were unable to fight to advantage, and were exposed to the shells of the enemy. Further resistance was impossible, and Colonel Magaw surrendered all his troops, two thousand in number. During this action, the troops of Cadwallader especially distinguished themselves. Of the officers, Colonel Baxter, of Pennsylvania, fell while cheering on his men. From the New Jersey shore, the Commander-in-chief witnessed a portion of the battle, and again he saw some of his brave troops bayoneted by the merciless Hessians, and wept, it is said, "with the tenderness of a child." It was resolved to abandon Fort Lee, but before it XXX. was fully accomplished, Cornwallis, with a force six thou- CHAP. sand strong, crossed the Hudson to the foot of the rocky cliffs known as the Palisades. The force sent down from 1776. North Castle was encamped at Hackensack, which lay between the river of that name and the Hudson, and Washington saw at once that the object of the enemy was to form a line across the country, and hem them in between the rivers. To avoid this he retreated, with all his forces, including the garrison of Fort Lee, to secure the bridge over the Hackensack, thence across the Passaic to the neighborhood of Newark. This retreat was made in such haste that nearly all the artillery was abandoned, the tents left standing, and the fires burning. That night the enemy found shelter in the tents of the deserted camp. From Newark, the army moved on across the Raritan to Brunswick, thence to Princeton, where they left twelve hundred men, under Lord Stirling, to check the enemy, while the main body proceeded to Trenton, and thence beyond the Delaware. The enemy pressed so closely upon them, that the advance of Cornwallis entered Newark at one end, as their rear-guard passed out at the other, and often during this march, "the American rear-guard, employed in pulling up bridges, was within sight and shot of the British pioneers, sent forward to rebuild them." Thus less than four thousand men-a mere shadow of an army-poorly clad, with a scant supply of blankets, without tents, and enfeebled for want of wholesome food, evaded, by an orderly retreat, a well appointed force that far outnumbered them, well fed, well clothed, well disciplined, and flushed with victory. When the enemy reached the Delaware, they were unable to cross over, not a boat was to be found; Washington had taken the precaution to have them all secured for a distance of seventy miles, and transferred to the west side. Thus ended this famous retreat, remarkable for the manner in which it was conducted, and the circumstances under which it took place. CHAP. XXX. Cornwallis was anxious to procure boats and push on to Philadelphia, but Howe decided to wait till the river 1776. should be frozen. Meanwhile, the Hessians were stationed. along the eastern bank for some miles above and below Trenton. During his harassed march, Washington had sent repeated and urgent orders to Lee to hasten to his aid with reinforcements. Notwithstanding the emergency, which he well knew, Lee lingered for two or three weeks on the east side of the Hudson, and when actually on the march, proceeded so slowly, that he did not reach Morristown until the eleventh of December. Lee had a high opinion of his own military abilities, and evidently desired an independent command. The deference which the Americans had paid to his judgment, and the importance they attached to his presence in the army, had flattered his natural self-conceit; his success at the South, and the correctness of his views in relation to Fort Washington, had strengthened his influence over them, and now, in this time of depression and discouragement, he hoped by some brilliant exploit to retrieve the fortunes of the army, and gain more glory to himself. In this mood he writes: "I am going into the Jerseys for the salvation of America." And again: "I am in hopes to reconquer, if I may so express myself, the Jerseys; it was really in the hands of the enemy before my arrival." While he pondered over these vain projects, he disregarded the authority of the Commander-in-chief, and, to say the least, subjected him to cruel inconvenience. We have no reason to believe that Lee was untrue to the cause he had embraced, but his wayward conduct, at this time and afterward, has diminished the grateful respect with which Americans would have cherished his memory. CHAPTER XXXI, THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION-CONTINUED. Discouragements.-Effects of Howe's Proclamation.-Affairs on Lake Champlain.--Heroism of Arnold.-Carleton retires to Canada.--Capture of Lee.-Troops from the Northern Army.-Battle of Trenton.--Battle of Princeton.-Death of Mercer.-Washington retires to Morristown.Cornwallis in his Lines at Brunswick.-Encouragements.--Putnam at Princeton.-Ill-treatment of American Prisoners; their Exchange under Negotiation.-Appointment of General Officers.-Muhlenburg.Wayne.-Conway.-Medical Department.--The Navy.-Marauding Expeditions.--Peekskill.-Danbury.--Death of Wooster.-Retaliation at Sag Harbor.-Efforts to recruit the Army.--Schuyler and Gates.-The National Flag. XXXI. As the news of this retreat went abroad, the friends of the CHAP. cause were discouraged. What remained of the army was fast wasting away; their enlistments were about to ex- 1776. pire, and the militia, especially that of New Jersey, refused to take the field in behalf of a ruined enterprise. Many thought the States could not maintain their independence; but there were a few who, confident in the justice of their cause, were firm and undaunted. Among these was Washington. In a conversation with General Mercer he remarked: "That even if driven beyond the Alleghanies, he would stand to the last for the liberties of his country." Howe felt certain the game was his own; he had only to bide his time. He sent forth another proclamation, in XXXI. CHAP. which he called upon all insurgents to disband, and Congress to lay down their usurped authority; and offered 1776. pardon to all who should accept the terms within sixty days. Many persons, most of whom were wealthy, complied. Among these were two of the delegates from Pennsylvania to the late Continental Congress, and the president of the New Jersey Convention which had sanctioned the Declaration of Independence, and others who had taken an active part in favor of the Revolution. For ten days after the proclamation was issued, from two to three hundred came every day to take the required oath. Dec. 12. The movements of the enemy, and the effect produced by the proclamation, caused great excitement in Philadelphia. Putnam, who had been sent to command there, advised that, during this season of peril, Congress should hold its sessions elsewhere, and it adjourned to meet again at Baltimore. At this time a reinforcement of seven regiments was on its way from Canada. We now return to the forces on Lake Champlain, where we left Schuyler and Gates in a sort of joint command. The army driven out of Canada, broken, diseased, and dispirited, rested first at Crown Point, and then at Ticonderoga. During his retreat, Sullivan wisely secured or destroyed all the boats on Lake Champlain. Its shores were an unbroken wilderness; thus the British were unable to follow up their pursuit by land or by water. Sir Guy Carleton, flushed with victory, and full of ardor, determined to overcome all obstacles and push his victory to the utmost. He would obtain the command of the Lakes Champlain and George, and by that means subdue northern New York, and then proceed to take possession of Albany, where he hoped to take up his winter-quarters. From that point, he hoped, by means of the Hudson, to co-operate with the Howes at New York, to cut off the communication between New England and |