370

WASHINGTON'S STRATEGY DURING 1777.

considerable that their surgeons and those in the country, were found insuffi. cient, and they requested the American army to supply them with some for their prisoners. If the enemy had marched to Derby, the army would have been cut up and destroyed; they lost an all-important night, and this was perhaps their greatest fault during a war in which they committed so many errors. It was thus at twenty-six miles from Philadelphia, that the fate of that town was decided-September 11th, 1777. The inhabitants had heard

every cannon that was fired there; the two parties, assembled into distinct bands in all the squares and public places, had waited the event in silence. The courier at length arrived, and the friends of liberty were thrown into consternation.''

The Victory of the Brandywine.-It opened for the conquering army the road to the Capital. But they were not to enter it without a further struggle. After giving several days' rest to his troops, Washington crossed the Schuylkill to meet Howe, who was advancing on Philadelphia. On the 16th of September a severe skirmish took place twenty miles west of the city; but a deluging rain prevented a general engagement, and the main body of the patriots withdrew towards Reading for the protection of their chief magazine of stores, while General Wayne, with fifteen hundred men, hung on the enemy's rear to harass his movements. A series of fierce and bloody contests followed for the possession of the line of the Schuylkill River, attended with serious losses on both sides; and it being no longer possible, nor on the whole desirable, to hold Philadelphia, Washington withdrew to his winter quarters at Valley Forge.

Washington's Strategy.-In no portion of his life did he display higher military ability than in the campaign of 1777. To enable the commander of the Northern department to arrest the advance of Burgoyne, and break up his plans, he had stripped himself of many of his best troops; and yet with an inferior force, he had detained Howe a whole month in a march of a little more than fifty miles, till the delay made it impossible for him to obey the instructions of the ministry, or mature any plan of his own, in time to carry it into execution. Had he been able, as he intended, to take Philadelphia, he could have sent an effectual force to relieve Burgoyne; as it was, he found that another year had been wasted, and he clearly foresaw that it would cost him his command. The final possession of Philadelphia had indeed secured for himself and his army, not only comfortable but luxurious quarters. But the success he had gained in reaching that point by the fiercely contested struggles at Germantown, and in taking Forts Mifflin and Mercer on the eastern side of the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia, were a poor compensation for the loss of a whole season and the British disasters at the North. Those forts had to be taken before the English fleet could come up the Delaware with supplies for his relief; and before that was accomplished, his army had begun to suffer. It had been declared treason by

1 Memoirs, vol. i., p. 24.

THE WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE.

371

the National Congress, either to sell or to furnish, any provisions to the enemy, within a distance of thirty miles from their stations.'

Congress Abandons Philadelphia.-When it became evident that the city must fall into the enemy's hands, Congress adjourned-September 27th-first to Lancaster, and soon afterwards to York, carrying with them all the public archives. Here they felt secure, and the public business was prosecuted without interruption till the following summer.

The Winter at Valley Forge.-This spot, where Lossing well says that patriotism should delight to pile its highest and most venerated monument, lies in the bosom of a rugged gorge, on the bank of the Schuylkill, twenty miles north-west of Philadelphia. Gordon, the historian, says that while dining at Washington's table, in 1784, he told him that bloody footprints marked the march of his army to the spot. It was probably the coldest winter ever known in America. Even the Bay of New York was frozen so deep, that the heaviest ordnance was transported over the ice from Staten Island to the city, a distance of seven miles. Most of the patriot army were destitute of common clothing. Little provision could be made even for their shelter; and the great body of them not only stood barefoot on the frozen ground and ice during the day, but were compelled to sleep without blankets in the open air. Disease struck the camp, and found easy conquests among men who were suffering such terrible privations. Congress had done the best it could; for it had no means of paying for military stores or equipments, except by its own notes; and when it was found that it could not redeem them, they depreciated almost to nothing. Not an officer could realize enough from his pay to get him the necessaries of life, and many of the brave and the patriotic were compelled to abandon their regiments to escape starvation. The scenes which occurred at Valley Forge during that long and terrific winter, indicate the extremest suffering. It seems almost incredible that there could have been enough patriotism in the breasts of any body of men, to stand by a cause which was so sorely and so deeply tried, although it was sustained by the great personal influence of a commander so revered and beloved.

A Conspiracy to supersede Washington.-It is lamentable and humiliating; but during these dreadful months of suffering and inaction, a conspiracy' was plotted to remove Washington from the chief command of the army. Gen

1 'There was little disposition, after the news of Burgoyne's defeat had spread through the region, to violate this law of Congress, for the hopes of the Tories had been considerably dampened by that event. Before Howe got possession of Philadelphia, he found himself obliged to open the navigation of the Delaware, which had been obstructed in several places by sinking heavy-framed timbers in the river. The fierce and brave Count Donop assaulted Fort Mercer with a body of sixteen hundred Hessians, where he lost five hundred of his men, and was fatally wounded. Being taken to the house of a Quaker near by, he expired three days afterwards. His last words were, I die the victim of my own ambition, and the avarice of my sovereign."’Lafayette's Memoirs, vol. i., p. 31.

I have no space nor inclination to go into any detailed account of this disgraceful cabal. It had its origin in the selfish and despicable jealousies of Gates, Lee, and Conway, and found a very effective promoter in Benjamin Rush, whose great and otherwise unsullied name will forever be associated with the dastardly attempt to overthrow the man on whom the hopes of the nation rested. Says Bancroft-vol. ix., p. 461-"While those who wished the general out of the way urged him to some rash enterprise, or, to feel the public pulse, sent abroad rumors that he was about to resign, Benja min Rush, in a letter to Patrick Henry, represented the army of Washington as having no general at their head, and went on to say: A Gates, a Lee, or a Conway would, in a few weeks, render them an irresistible odg

A CONSPIRACY TO SUPERSEDE WASHINGTON.

372 eral Gates was to be his successor; truth justifies the assertion, that he wa aware of all the movements going on to effect this object. His chief agent was General Conway, who had succeeded in getting himself appointed inspector-general, with the rank of a major-general, his office being made indepen dent of the commander-in-chief. But when the foul plot became known, the indignation of the army was too great to be disregarded, and those who had been most active in the cabal were glad to escape from its consequences as best they could. The office of inspector-general was taken from Conway, and the gallant Steuben, a Prussian officer of great valor and integrity, was appointed in his place. Conway was the only member of the cabal magnanimous enough to own his error. In the next July, after receiving a severe wound in a duel, and supposing himself near his end, he wrote the following words to Washington - My career will soon be over; therefore justice and truth prompt me to declare my last sentiments. You are in my eyes the great and good man. May you long enjoy the love, veneration, and esteem of these States, whose liberties you have asserted by your virtues.' Washington, who was too great to harbor resentment, said, on reading the letter-' Poor Conway never could have intended much wrong-there is nothing to forgive.'

During the intrigues against Washington, Lafayette, in a letter to Baron de Steuben, dated Albany, March 12th, said: 'Permit me to express my satisfaction at your having seen General Washington. No enemies to that great man can be found, except among the enemies to his country; nor is it possible for any man of a noble spirit, to refrain from loving the excellent qualities of his heart. I think I know him as well as any person, and such is the idea which I have formed of him. His honesty, his frankness, his sensibility, his virtue to the full extent in which this word can be understood-are above all praise. It is not for me to judge of his military talents; but, according to my imperfect knowledge of these matters, his advice in council has always appeared to me the best, although his modesty sometimes prevents him from sustaining it; and his predictions have generally been fullfiled. I am the more happy in giving you this opinion of my friend, with all the sincerity which I feel, because some persons may, perhaps, attempt to deceive you on this point."1

of men. Some of the contents of this letter ought to be made public, in order to awaken, enlighten, and alarm our country.' This communication, to which Rush dared not sign his name, Patrick Henry, in his scorn, noticed only by sending it to Washington. An anonymous paper of the like stamp, transmitted to the President of Congress, took the same direction.

"Washington's real greatness never shone out more brilliantly than in the midst of the villainous plottings of this low cabal. To William Gordon, who was then collecting materials for his history of the Revolution, and who enjoyed the confidence of Washington, the commander wrote, Neither interested nor ambitious views led me into the service. I did not solicit the command, but accepted it with much entreaty, with all that diffidence which a conscious want of ability and experience equal to the discharge of so important a trust must naturally excite in a mind not quite devoid of thought; and after I did engage, pursued the great line of my duty, and the object in view, as far as my judgment could direct, as pointedly as the needle to the pole. No person ever heard me drop an expression that had tendency to resignation. The same principles that

led me to embark in the opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain, operate with additional force at this day; nor is it my desire to withdraw my services while they are considered of importance to the present contest. There is not an officer in the service of the United States that would return to the sweets of domestic life with more heartfelt joy than I should, but I mean not to shrink from the cause.'

"In his remonstrances with Congress he wrote with plainness, but with moderation. His calm dignity, while it irritated his adversaries, overawed them; and nothing could shake the confidence of the people, or divide the affections of any part of the army, or perma nently distract the majority of Congress. Those who had been most ready to cavil at him, soon wished their rash words benevolently interpreted or forgotten. Gates denied the charge of being in a league to super sede Washington as a wicked, false, diabolical calumny of incendiaries, and would not believe that any such plot existed; Mifflin exonerated himself in mor equivocal language; and both retired from the com mittee that was to repair to head-quarters."

1 Lafayette's Memoirs, p. 163.