The Reverend Patrick Allison, first minister of the Presbyterian church of Baltimore, and Reverend W. White, were appointed chaplains on the 23d. It was there, on the 27th of December, two days after the battle at Trenton, that Congress, by resolution, delegated so much of their powers to Washington, for six months, as made him a military dictator, a fact already noticed on page 232. Through a local committee of Congress, left in Philadelphia, efficient cooperation with the army was secured, and the whole military establishment, as we have seen (page 241), was placed in a higher and more effective condition than it had been since the organization of the army.
Congress continued in session in Baltimore until Friday, the 27th of February, when it adjourned to Philadelphia, where the delegates met on the following Wednesday, the 4th of March.
When La Fayette passed through Baltimore on his way to the field of his conflicts at the South, he was greeted with the greatest respect by the people. A ball was given in his honor, at which the marquis appeared sad. "Why so gloomy at a ball?" asked one of the gay belles. "I can not enjoy the gayety of the scene," replied La Fayette, "while so many of the poor soldiers are without shirts and other necessaries."
"We will supply them," was the noble reply of the ladies; and the gayety of the ball-room was exchanged for the sober but earnest services of the needle. They assembled the next day in great numbers to make up clothing for the soldiers, of materials furnished by fathers and husbands. **** One gentleman, out of his limited means, gave La Fayette five hundred dollars to aid him
* Purviancers Narrative, pages 12-13.
** On one side of the banner are the letters U. S., and in a circle around them the words "United valor is stronger." The letter c in the last word is incorrect; it should be t. On the other side, in the center, is the All-seeing Eye, with the words Non alius régit; "No other governs."
*** This view is from Baltimore Street, looking southeast. The front on the left is on Baltimore Street; the other is on Liberty Street. Its first story is now used for commercial purposes; otherwise it exhibits the same external appearance as when Congress assembled there.