306 PHILADELPHIA THREATENED. CHAPTER XII. Philadelphia Threatened-General Washington marches to meet the Enemy-Battle at Brandywine-British take Possession of Philadelphia-Subsequent Operations-Character of the Republican Chiefs-Society at Reading-Temper of the Times-The Author Married. GENERAL HOWE had remained inactive during the summer, and it was not until the latter part of August that it became manifest that Philadelphia was his object. This rendered it expedient, in the opinion of the active Whigs of that city, to put out of the way of mischief the most influential and zealous of the disaffected; several of whom were, accordingly, on authority of Congress, apprehended and deported to the western parts of Virginia. On their way thither, they passed through Reading; and it being proposed, by some of their old fellowcitizens there resident, to show them some attention in their misfortune, the proposition was generally approved, and I was among the number of those who called on them at the inn at which they stopped. Here we found some of the principal and most respectable Quakers, Mr James Pemberton, Myers Fisher, and several others, whom I do not, with certainty, recollect. Mr Fisher was the only one of this society with whom I was personally acquainted; and he, I remember, took occasion significantly to observe, that "I did not look as if I had been WASHINGTON MARCHES TO MEET THE ENEMY. 307 starved by those sad people the British." But I found among them another acquaintance of an wholly different order. This was no other than my old friend Pike, the fencing-master, who, although he had dissembled so well at the outset of the business, as to render it dubious whether he was for or against us, had, in the sequel, it seems, evinced himself a true-hearted Briton, to which circumstance he owed the honour of his being in his present very good company, as he termed it. The red coat and laced hat of Pike were, to be sure, very strikingly in contrast with the flat brims and plain drab-coloured garments of the rest of the assemblage: nevertheless, from an internal similarity, this seemingly discordant ingredient incorporated perfectly well with the mass; and Friend Pike, as he was called, officiating in the capacity of a major domo or caterer at the inns they put up at, was a person, I found, of no small consideration with his party. The prisoners were not much dejected, probably looking upon themselves as martyrs to the cause of their country; and, in fact, though apparently well pleased with the civility we showed them, their manner rather indicated, that they considered us as more objects of pity than themselves. How much is it to be lamented, that the public good should not always be so manifest as not to be mistaken! If this were the case, how many of the fantastic tricks we play off against each other, in its name, might be spared! But then, we should no longer be the self-important" forked animals,' "" the quintessence of dust," called man. Having drawn together his forces, General Washington marched to meet the enemy, who, from the head of Elk, was directing his course to Philadelphia. As it had been given out, by the disaffected, that we were 308 REVIEW OF THE ARMY. much weaker than, in truth, we were, the General thought it best to show both Whigs and Tories the real strength he possessed; and, in this view, took his route through the city, the bellorum maxima merces, or, at least, the great object of the campaign, and the point, which, if gained, would, in the opinion of Mr Galloway, be decisive of the contest. I happened to be there at the time, and, from the coffehouse corner, saw our army, with the commander-in-chief at its head, pass down Front Street. The sight was highly interesting to persons of all descriptions; and, among the many who, perhaps, equally disclaimed the epithet of Whig or of Tory, Mr Chew, from an upper window in the house of Mr Turner, appeared a very anxious spectator. By the bye, it might savour of bigotry to impute guilt to this want of decision. In civil commotions, there is generally so much to disapprove, on both sides, and the issue is so little answerable to the designs of the well-meaning men embarked in them, that neutrality, if it could be maintained, might often be the most eligible part. Atticus was, perhaps, as good, and, probably, a wiser man than either Cicero, or Pompey, or Cæsar. There are certainly times in which inaction becomes virtue, notwithstanding that active ardour may be more congenial to upright intention; and that it is in the glowing temperament of a Cato, disdaining that "his house should stand secure and flourish in a civil war," that the noblest feelings of an honest heart are to be looked for. And yet, this very Cato, under the guidance of the same poet who puts this heroic sentiment into his mouth, is made to counsel his son to "live retired, and to content himself with being obscurely good." The impression made by this review of the American ACTION AT BRANDYWINE. 309 army, it is to be presumed, was rather favourable than otherwise, from the propensity of persons unaccustomed to the sight of large bodies of men to augment them. But it was very disproportioned to the zeal for liberty, which had been manifested the year before. It amounted to but about eight or nine thousand men, according to Mr Marshall; but these, though indifferently dressed, held well burnished arms, and carried them like soldiers, and looked, in short, as if they might have faced an equal number with a reasonable prospect of success. The action which ensued at Brandywine, on the eleventh of September, is an instance, among many others furnished by history, both of the temptation to dispute the passage of a river by fronting the enemy on the opposite side, and of the inefficacy of such attempts. The difficulty and ineligibility of these undertakings are noticed by most of the writers on the art of war, and particularly by the Marquis De Feuqueres. To a person of any military experience, who reflects how easy it must be to distract the opposing army by fallacious demonstrations, in a situation at once concealed from observation, and exempted from the peril which results from movements in the face of an adversary, in a state to profit by them, the little chance of succeeding in the effort, on a merely defensive plan, must be apparent. Where, indeed, the defending general shall permit himself to become the assailant, if occasion should offer, he, in some degree, balances advantages; and the conception of General Washington, as mentioned by Mr Marshall, of crossing at the lower ford to attack the enemy's right under Knyphausen, was masterly; and might, if rapidly put in execution, have handsomely turned the tables. It can hardly be doubted, however, that a position on 310 ACTION AT BRANDYWINE. the enemy's flank to the westward, would have been more eligible than that taken in front; and that the means of annoying and possibly crippling him on his march, which was all that could reasonably be looked for from an army so inferior as ours, might have offered at this river or at Schuylkill. This was, probably, at one time contemplated, under the recommendation, as it was said, of General Greene. But the public clamour demanded that a battle should be risked for the city; and I well remember, that it was given out at Reading, on the suggestion of General Mifflin, that Greene, of whom he was no friend, was jealous of southern influence, and therefore indifferent to the fate of Philadelphia. But if Greene really advised the measure attributed to him, thereby securing the open country to our army in case of disaster, in preference to the plan adopted, and which, in addition to its other faults, tended to place us in the nook formed by the course of the Delaware, I cannot but say, that, whatever were his motives, and we have no ground to presume them bad, he was right. Yet, if Congress required that the enemy should be fought, and we have good authority that they did require it, the opportunity of bringing him to action, in any other mode than that of placing ourselves directly in his way, might have been lost. But why so much caution, it may be asked, against a foe in the very heart of the country? Why not rather turn out en masse, surround, and make a breakfast of Mr Howe and his mercenaries? Could not a population of two millions of souls have furnished fighting Whigs enough for the purpose? Where were the multitudes which used to appear in arms, in the commons of Philadelphia? Where the legions of New England men that |