“Thus, by an army almost reduced to extremity, Philadelphia was saved; Pennsylvania protected; New Jersey nearly recovered; and a victorious army laid under the necessity of quitting all thoughts of acting offensively, in order to defend itself.”
CHAPTER XVI.
THE AMERICAN BASE OF OPERATIONS ESTABLISHED.—THE SECOND NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN.
The narrative of Washington’s career as a Soldier, up to the time when he foiled the best efforts of Howe and Cornwallis to capture his weary band of Continentals and militia, has been a continuous story of love of country and devotion to her brave defenders. The most assiduous care for their discipline, their health, their moral deportment, and their loyalty to duty, has been the burden of his soul. Pleading, remonstrance, and even reprimand, however earnest and pungent, have never worn a selfish garb, nor breathed of arrogance or fitful temper. Presumptuous denunciations by his chief antagonist have never impaired the dignity of his carriage, his felicity of utterance, nor the serenity of his faith.
The indiscretions of his subordinates, their jealousies, and their weaknesses, have been so condoned, or accommodated to the eventful hours of camp or field service, that while he rests in camp, during the opening week of the second year of battling with the might of Britain, he has in mind, only words of thanksgiving for mercies realized, and a bold challenge to the American Congress and the American people for men and means whereby to make their sublime Declaration of Independence a realized fact.
And yet, never before has there gathered about his pathway such ominous mutterings of a threatening tempest. It is no longer the spectacle of a half-organized army parrying the strokes of a compact enemy, well equipped for war. He has halted, faced the foe, and assumed the aggressive. Washington has been fencing. His first lunge in return draws blood. He will fight to the finish.
Already, he understands that his first New Jersey campaign indicates the real field of endeavor in which the fate of his country is to be settled. Whatever may be in store of sacrifice, or battle, he must now plan for victory; and to ensure its happy realization, he must so neutralize the domination of New York, that its occupation, whether by himself or Great Britain, will cease to be a controlling factor in the momentous struggle.
Even the battle-issue is no longer to be with its strong garrison; but from Lake Champlain to Savannah, along the entire Atlantic coast, and wherever great cities or seaboard towns fight strongest for liberty, he is to be their standard-bearer; and there the people are to bleed and triumph. Like Habib in the Arabian tale, when he drew from its scabbard the talismanic sword of Solomon, and there flashed upon the glittering steel the divine word “Power,” so he had the faith to know that “the substance of things hoped for” was to be the trophy won.
Thus far, the recital of marchings and fightings has proved his ability to command the confidence of his countrymen, of Congress, and of disinterested mankind. Hereafter, the details of battles must be relegated to fuller records; and this account will be more closely restricted to the potential part borne by him in their conduct, general management, and improvement.
A reference to the accompanying map will furnish a simple key to the progress of the War for American Independence. Concentric circles about New York, as a radius point, indicate the immediate sweep of the British arm of offence. Similar circles about Morristown and Middlebrook indicate, that as a fortified centre this section, like the hub of a wheel, would endanger along its divergent spokes all operations out from New York as far up the Hudson River as West Point, and throughout the Province of New Jersey. It would compel Great Britain to maintain a permanent garrison of sufficient strength for all such excursions; and a correspondingly large, half-idle force for the protection of its own headquarters and its general depot of supplies. It was like a mountain peak for an observatory; and such was the systematic organization of scouts, messengers and runners, in the confidence and pay of the American Commander-in-Chief, that almost daily information was furnished him of the minutest occurrence in and about the British headquarters; and a regular Shipping List was supplied by competent spies, of every movement of British men-of-war, transports, and tenders, as far out as Sandy Hook.