The British army in Boston amounted to eleven thousand five hundred men. They were in the highest state of discipline, under able and experienced generals, and abundantly supplied with all the best arms, ammunition, and material of war which Europe could afford. Washington had under his command, fit for duty, only fourteen thousand five hundred men, with no general organization, no supply of stores or clothing, no military chest, and but wretchedly supplied with arms and ammunition.[89] It is one of the marvels of history that this motley assembly of farmers and mechanics was not swept away, before the British regulars, like withered leaves before autumnal gales.
Washington convened a council of war. It was promptly decided, without a dissenting voice, that at the least twenty-two thousand men were needed, to hold the posts which the Americans then occupied. And those posts must be held, or British marauders would range the country, plundering villages and farm-houses.
Washington was appalled to find that there was not powder enough in the whole camp to supply nine cartridges to a man. Had the British known this, they might have marched from their intrenchments in Roxbury and Charlestown, and have utterly annihilated the American army, leaving not a vestige behind.
Washington rode to various eminences, from which he carefully reconnoitred the British posts. His military eye revealed to him the skill with which everything was conducted by his powerful foe. Of the troops under Washington’s command, nine thousand were from Massachusetts. The remainder were from the other New England colonies. The encampment of the Rhode Island troops attracted the eye of Washington and won his admiration. General Nathaniel Greene led them. His soldiers were admirably drilled. Order and discipline prevailed, under his rule, unsurpassed in any of the British camps.[90]
The troops, in general, were destitute of suitable clothing. And there was no money in the military chest. A British soldier could be instantly recognized, by his brilliant scarlet costume. Washington showed his knowledge of human nature, by judging that any uniform, however simple in its nature, which at once revealed the American patriot, would prove a strong bond of union with the troops. He wrote to Congress, urging that ten thousand hunting shirts should be immediately sent to the army, as the cheapest dress which could be promptly furnished.
It is a little remarkable that the Massachusetts troops were the most destitute of all. The fact, as expressed by Washington, proved highly honorable to that heroic State. He wrote:
“This unhappy and devoted province has been so long in a state of anarchy, and the yoke has been laid so heavily on it, that great allowances are to be made, for troops raised under such circumstances. The deficiency of numbers, discipline, and stores can only lead to this conclusion, that their spirit has exceeded their strength.”
The religious spirit which animated many of these patriots may be inferred from the following extract from a letter, written to General Washington at this time, by Governor Trumbull of Connecticut. “May the God of the armies of Israel shower down the blessings of divine providence on you; give you wisdom and fortitude; cover your head in the day of battle and danger; add success; convince our enemies of their mistaken measures, and that all their attempts to deprive these colonies of their inestimable constitutional rights and liberties are injurious and vain.”
It was necessary for Washington, as Commander-in-Chief, to maintain considerable state. Every day some of his officers dined with him. Though naturally very social, his mind was so entirely engrossed by the vast responsibilities which rested upon him, that he had no time to devote to those social indulgences of the table of which many are so fond. He was extremely simple in his diet. Often his dinner consisted of a bowl of baked apples and milk. Having finished his frugal repast, he early excused himself from the table, leaving some one of his officers to preside in his stead.
His first aide-de-camp was Colonel Mifflin, a very accomplished gentleman from Philadelphia. His second was John Trumbull, who afterward obtained much renown as an historical painter. His noble father, Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, was one of Washington’s most efficient coöperators. He was the only one of the colonial governors, appointed by the crown, who, at the commencement of the revolution, proved true to the cause of the Americans.[91] Colonel John Trumbull, in allusion to his appointment, wrote: