had been re-enforced in his march by troops just arrived from New York, Greene could not act offensively: the fort of Red Novem, Bank was consequently evacuated; and the two generals 18th. rejoined without delay their respective leaders.

Washington soon after Sir William Howe retired from Germantown, had advanced, as before mentioned, to White Marsh, within reach of the enemy; a strong position, rendered stronger by the application of art and labor wherever requisite. On the return of Lord Cornwallis from New Jersey, the British general resolved to bring the American army to battle; with which view he moved from Philadelphia on the 4th of December, and took post on Chestnut Hill, distant three miles from White Marsh. Here he passed two days, making many demonstrations of a general assault. Onthe third he changed his ground and encamped in front of our left, the most vulnerable part of Washington's position, as it might have been turned by pursuing the old York road; which measure would infallibly have produced battle or have forced retreat. Here the British general renewed his demonstrations of assault; and Lord Cornwallis engaged the light troops on our left flank, who were driven in after a sharp rencontre, in which Major Morris, of New Jersey, was mortally wounded. This officer's distinguished merit had pointed him out to the commander-in-chief as peculiarly calculated for the rifle regiment, made up with a view to the most perilous and severe service, and which had, under its celebrated colonel (Morgan), eminently maintained its renown in the late trying scenes of the memorable campaign in the North; in all of which Morris bore a conspicuous part. His loss was deeply felt, and universally regretted, being admired for his exemplary courage, and beloved for his kindness and benevolence.

This skirmish concluded the manifestations of battle exhibited by Howe. He returned to Philadelphia, unequivocally acknowledging by his retreat, that his adversary had at length attained a size which forbade the risk of battle on ground chosen by himself.*

Truth, spoken in terms so imperative, would have conveyed to the British minister salutary admonition, had his mind been open to its reception. This was the period for the restoration of the blessings of peace; and the loss of one army, with the late un

* Washington, on receiving intelligence of Howe's retreat, said, "Better would it have been for Sir William Howe to have fought without victory, than thus to declare his inability."

*

equivocal declaration of the British commander-in-chief, ought to have led to the acknowledgment of our independence, and to the renewal of amity, with preferential commercial intercourse; thus saving the useless waste of blood and treasure which followed, stopping the increase of irritation which twenty years of peace have not eradicated, and preventing the alliance soon after effected, between their ancient enemy and these States-the prolific parent of great and growing ills to Great Britain and to America.

CHAPTER VIII.

Washington goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge.-Inoculates his army.-Sir Wm. Howe recalled.-Sir Henry Clinton in command.-Conduct of Sir Wm. Howe.-His check at Bunker's Hill.

Howe's abandonment of the field, and the rigor of the season, induced the American general to prepare for winter quarters. Comparing the various plans suggested by his own comprehensive mind, and by the assisting care of those around him, he adopted a novel experiment, the issue of which gave increase of fame to his already highly-honored name. He determined to hold

his main force in one compact body, and to place some light troops, horse and foot, with corps of militia, in his front, contiguous to the enemy, for the double purpose of defending the farmer from the outrages of marauders, and of securing to himself quick information of any material movement in the enemy's camp. He selected for his winter position Valley Forge, which lies on the western side of the Schuylkill, convenient to the rich country of Lancaster and Reading, and in the first step of the ascent of hills which reach to the North Mountain or Blue Ridge. It possessed every advantage ,which strength of ground or salubrity of climate could bestow. Here, by the hands of his soldiers, he erected a town of huts, which afforded a comfortable shelter from the inclemency of the season, and strengthened his position by all the help of art and industry. This work, of his selection, soon evinced its preference to the common mode of cantonment in contiguous towns and villages.

*There are two sorts of victory,-that, generally understood, when two armies meet and fight, and one yields to the other; or, when the object of contest is given up without battle, by voluntary relinquishment, as was now the case, rather than risk battle.

Close under the eye of the officer, and far from the scenes of delight, the hardy character of the troops did not degenerate by effeminate indulgences, but was rather confirmed by unremitting attention to the acquirement of military knowledge, and the manly exercises proper for a camp. Intent upon bringing his army to a thorough knowledge of the most approved system of tactics, the American general adopted the means most likely to produce this essential effect, watching and encouraging with care and indulgence his beloved troops in their progress, always tenderly mindful of the preservation of their health; as on their fidelity, skill, and courage his oppressed country rested for relief and safety. He not only enforced rigid attention to all those regulations and usages generally adopted to keep off disease, but determined to risk the critical and effectual measure of extinguishing the small-pox in his army; whose pestilential rage had already too often thinned its ranks, and defeated the most important enterprises. Preparations to accomplish this wise resolution having been made with all possible secrecy, the period of the winter most opposed to military operations was selected for its introduction in succession to the several divisions of the army; and what is really surprising, nearly one-halť of the troops had gone through the disease before the enemy became apprised of its commencement.

While Washington was engaged, without cessation, to perfect his army in the art of war, and to place it out of the reach of that contagious malady so fatal to man, Sir William was indulging, with his brave troops, in all the sweets of luxury and pleasure to be drawn from the wealthy and populous city of Philadelphia; nor did he once attempt to disturb that repose, now so essential to the American general. Thus passed the winter; and the approaching spring brought with it the recall of the commander of the British army, who was succeeded by Sir Henry Clinton, heretofore his second.*

It is impossible to pass over this period of the American war without giving vent to some of those reflections which it necessarily excites. Sir William Howe was considered one of the best soldiers in England, when charged with the important trust of subduing the revolted colonies. Never did a British general, in any period

*After Sir William Howe returned home, a parliamentary inquiry was made into his conduct upon a motion of his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, which was in a little while dropped. It plainly appears, from the documents exhibited, that Sir William Howe's plans were cordially adopted by the minister, and that he was as cordially supported by government in whatever he desired.-See parliamentary debates for 1779.

of that nation, command an army better fitted to insure success than the one submitted to his direction, whether we regard its comparative strength with that opposed to it, the skill of the officers, the discipline and courage of the soldiers, the adequacy of all the implements and munitions of war, or the abundance of the best supplies of every sort. In addition, his brother Lord Howe commanded a powerful fleet on our coast, for the purpose of subserving the views, and supporting the measures, of the commander-in-chief. Passing over the criminal supineness which marked his conduct after the battle of Long Island, and the fatal mistake of the plan of the campaign in 1777 (the first and leading feature of which ought to have been junction with Burgoyne and the undisturbed possession of the North River), we must be permitted to look at him with scrutinous though impartial eyes, when pursuing his own object and directed by his own judgment, after his disembarkation at the head of the Chesapeake.

We find him continuing to omit pressing the various advantages he dearly gained from time to time. He was ever ready to appeal to the sword, and but once retired from his enemy. But he does not seem to have known, that to win a victory was but the first step in the actions of a great captain. To improve it is as essential; and unless the first is followed by the second, the conqueror ill requites those brave companions of his toils and perils, to whose disregard of difficulties and contempt of death, he is so much indebted for the laurel which entwines his brow; and basely neglects his duty to his country, whose confidence in his zeal for her good, had induced her to commit to his keeping her fame and interest.

After his victory at Brandywine, he was, by his own official statement, less injured than his adversary; yet with many of his corps entire and fresh, we find him wasting three precious days, with the sole ostensible object of sending his wounded to Wilmington. Surely the detachment charged with this service, was as adequate to their protection on the field of battle, as afterward, on the march; and certainly it required no great exertion of mind to nave made this arrangement in the course of one hour, and to have pursued his beaten foe, after the refreshments and repose enjoyed in one night. This was omitted. He adhered to the same course of conduct after the battle of Germantown, when the ill-boding tidings from the Northern warfare, emphatically called upon him to press his victory, in order to compensate for the heavy loss likely to be sustained by the captivity of Burgoyne and his army. But

what is surprising, still more, after the Delaware was restored to his use, and the communication with the fleet completely enjoyed, he relinquished his resolution of fighting Washington at White Marsh, having ascertained, by his personal observations, that no material difficulty presented itself on the old York road, by which route he' could, with facility, have turned Washington's left, and have compelled him to a change of position with battle, or to a perilous retreat. And last, though not least in magnitude, knowing as Sir William ought to have known, the sufferings and wants of every kind to which Washington was exposed at Valley Forge, as well as that his army was under inoculation for the small-pox, while he himself was so abundantly supplied with every article requisite to give warmth and comfort to his troops, it is wonderful how he could omit venturing a winter campaign, to him promising every advantage, and to his antagonist menacing every ill-this too, when the fate of Burgoyne was no longer doubtful, and its adverse influence on foreign powers unquestionable, unless balanced by some grand and daring stroke on his part. The only plan practicable was that above suggested; an experiment urged by all the considerations which ever can command high-spirited enterprise.

These are undeniable truths; and they involve an inquisitive mind in a perplexity not easy to be untangled. It would be absurd to impute this conduct to a want of courage in Sir William Howe; for all acknowledge that he eminently possessed that quality. Nor can it be justly ascribed to either indolence of disposition, or a habit of sacrificing his duties to ease; for he possessed a robust body, with an active mind, and although a man of pleasure, subdued, when necessary, its captivating allurements with facility. To explain it, as some have done by supposing him friendly to the revolution, and therefore to connive at its success, would be equally stupid and unjust; for no part of Sir William's life is stained with a single departure from the line of honor. Moreover, traitors are not to be found among British generals; whose fidelity is secured by education, by their grade and importance in society, and by the magnificent rewards of government sure to follow distinguished efforts. The severe admonition which Sir William had received from the disastrous battle of Bunker's, or rather Breed's, Hill, furnishes the most probable explanation of this mysterious inertness. On that occasion, he commanded a body of chosen troops inured to discipline, and nearly double in number to his foe; possessing artillery in abundance, prepared in the best manner; with an army

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