British army in front, and a powerful fleet prepared to intercept him in the rear, Washington withdrew across a broad river his defeated forces, and all his military stores and artillery, except a small quantity of provisions, and some heavy guns. In the morning the rising sun displayed to the astonished Britons the last American divisions crossing the waters, and already far beyond the reach of annoyance or pursuit.

The American forces were now concentrated upon York Island; and the movements of the hostile army and fleet began plainly to indicate that there was no intention to leave them undisturbed. The great importance attached by Congress to the preservation of the city, was fully appreciated by the American commander; but when it became obvious that Sir William Howe's plan was to cut off all his communications by taking post in his rear, while the front was effectually guarded by the shipping, Washington's judgment was soon satisfied that no course could be prudent or advisable short of immediate evacuation. The daily advances of the British rendering the American position every day more critical, brought a large majority of the council of war to the same opinion; and New York was abandoned with a serious loss in heavy cannon and military stores. The American army fell back to the neighbourhood of Kingsbridge, where it strongly fortified itself; while Howe, after taking military possession of his important conquest, immediately moved in pursuit, and encamped in front of the intrenchments. The policy of Washington was now to renew the courage and increase the discipline of 'his troops by frequent skirmishes, without venturing on any considerable engagement; some severe contests accordingly took place, which produced honourable results, though not decisive of any very important consequence. General Howe, on the contrary, was bent upon bringing on a general action; and as his adversary became more enterprising in attack, he increased his circumspection in guarding every vulnerable point. The English army marched always in close column; its encampments were compact and guarded by artillery. When demonstrations upon the American rear, both by land and water, seriously endangered the connexion with the country, Washington retired towards the White Plains, where he again entered into intrenched lines, with the enemy in front.

Sir William Howe now made every preparation for storming the American camp, and on the 25th of October the British forces were drawn up for that purpose in line of battle. A hill on the American right, occupied by General M'Dougall, with sixteen hundred men, chiefly militia, was the first point of attack, and was assailed with great vigour. The regular troops from Maryland and New York, commanded by Smallwood and Reitzimer, disputed the ground with remarkable firmness and audacity, and it was not until after a loss on each side of between three and four hundred men, that the Americans retreated to the main body, and the British remained masters of the post.

Washington continued in his intrenchments, fully prepared for the threatened assault; the English general, however, changed his plans, and now considered it advisable to wait for expected reinforcements under Lord Percy. Several days were spent in mutual observation, until these troops arrived; the American commander then retired to the heights of Newcastle, where his position was so strong as to induce General Howe to abandon his designs against the main army, and to direct his movements to other objects.

As soon as the British forces began slowly to retreat down the Hudson, Washington perceived their plan of operations. In his letters to congress, to the governor of New Jersey, and to General Greene, he expressed his firm conviction that the enemy meditated the investment of Fort Washington, and the invasion of the Jerseys; and he strongly recommended that the men and stores in the former post should not be exposed to unnecessary hazard. From a mistaken confidence in the strength of the fort, this counsel was neglected; and Sir William Howe, after carrying the outworks by assault, received the surrender of the garrison, who became prisoners of war. The loss thus sustained was the most important that had ever yet visited the American cause. The useless nature of the post itself had been repeatedly demonstrated by the safe passage of British vessels; but twenty-five hundred good soldiers, with a magazine of military stores, were not to be replaced in those days of adversity and discouragement. The evacuation of Fort Lee was immediately determined upon and effected, though with the abandonment of cannon, tents, and provisions.

The American commander passed the North river with a part of his army, and followed the movement of the British into the state of New Jersey. Not being in sufficient force to prevent their successes, he was gradually driven from one position to another, until he at length crossed the Delaware, and took up a position on its right bank, for the purpose of covering Philadelphia. Amid all these disasters, the indefatigable courage of Washington never flagged, and his exertions suffered no intermission because weaker minds considered all as lost. With him, the republic was never to be despaired of, and his army always saw him as calm and collected as when fortune smiled most graciously upon his banners. General Lee was ordered to join him with the rest of the main army which had been left on the east side of the Hudson. General Schuyler, in the north, was directed to march southward with all possible expedition; similar instructions were forwarded to Generals Gates and Heath, and urgent entreaties were addressed to the various states from which succours might be expected in this perilous crisis.

But all of these various armies were suffering under a visitation long anticipated by the watchful eye of Washington, and which had been the constant subject of his thoughts and labours. The time had now again arrived when the soldiers were entitled to their discharges, and no immediate means were provided to supply their places.

The special attention of Congress to this most important consideration, had been invoked in all the letters of their general, and they were at length induced to vote a permanent army, and to increase the pay of officers and soldiers: but these resolutions came too late for the present campaign, and the weak American force was daily thinned by the dissolution of its component parts. Whole regiments retired in a body from the service; so that when the commander-in-chief crossed the Delaware in view of his pursuers, less than three thousand men bore the burthen of freedom and her fortunes.

The American general had been sensible for some time that the only chance of arresting the enemy's progress and recruiting his forces, was by a prudent use of the natural impediments presented by the river Delaware. All the boats for a distance of seventy miles, were therefore collected together and placed under strong guards: and the army was so posted as to cover the several fords accessible to the British. When these arrange ments were completed, and the immediate pressure of a formidable pursuit removed, it was possible to wait more patiently for the accession of re-inforcements. Fifteen hundred of the citizens of Philadelphia, embodied for the general defence, joined the army in the neighbourhood of Trenton: General Sullivan arrived with Lee's division, after the surprise and capture of that incautious soldier by the enemy's cavalry: and with other additions, the American forces found themselves augmented to seven thousand men. The British commander made repeated efforts to possess himself of the boats and force his passage across the river; but after several disappointments, he at length desisted and began his preparations for retiring into winter quarters. The main body of the army was cantoned between the Delaware and the Hackensack: about four thousand men occupied positions between Trenton and Mount Holly, and strong detachments lay at Princeton, Brunswick, and Elizabethtown. The object of this dispersion over so wide an extent of country, was to intimidate the people and thus prevent the possibility of recruiting for the continental service; while in the spring these forces could be immediately concentrated, and it was then proposed to put an easy conclusion to all rebellious contumacy.

Washington was now aware that the desperate condition of his country's fortunes could only be retrieved by some equally desperate but successful enterprise. With the exception of about fifteen hundred effectives, his whole force would be entitled, in a few days, to its discharge: and there was no prospect of new accessions, while public opinion looked upon the American arms as without glory or even hope. The daring resolution was therefore adopted, of a combined and general assault upon all the British posts on the Delaware; in the hope that success upon some one point would obliterate the remembrance of former disasters, and impress a lesson of wholesome caution upon the triumphant and contemptuous enemy.

Early in the morning of the 26th of December 1776, the main body of the American army, twenty

four hundred strong, and headed by Washington in person, crossed the river at M'Konkey's ferry, about nine miles above Trenton. The night was tempestuous with rain and sleet, and the river encumbered with quantities of floating ice, so that the passage, although begun soon after midnight, was not fully effected until three o'clock, and one hour more elapsed before the march could be commenced. The Americans moved in two divisions, along the roads leading to the town, and their operations were so well combined, and executed with such precision, that the two attacks on the British outposts were made within three minutes of each other. The pickets attempted resistance, but were almost immediately driven in upon the main body, which was forming hurriedly in line. Colonel Rahl, their commander, soon after fell mortally wounded; the confusion of the soldiery became irremediable, and after a loss of about twenty killed, one thousand men laid down their arms and surrendered their munitions and artillery. On the American side, the loss in battle amounted to only two killed and four wounded, including James Monroe, afterwards president of the United States.

The other parts of this brilliant enterprise were not, however, executed with the same success. General Irvine had been instructed to cross at Trenton ferry, and by securing a bridge below the town, to cut off the enemy's march along the Bordentown road. Notwithstanding all his exertions, it was found that the ice had rendered the passage impracticable, and five hundred fugitives from the disastrous field of Trenton, were thus enabled to escape by a speedy and well-timed retreat. General Cadwallader was to have crossed at Dunk's ferry and carried the post at Mount Holly; but the same impediment prevented this movement also, and he was compelled to return with a part of his infantry which had effected the passage. Deprived of this important and expected co-operation, Washington had nevertheless achieved a most critical and important triumph; he returned to his former position, charged with the spoils and trophies of his foes, and from that moment-though reverses frequently dimmed the brilliancy of the prospect-hope never again deserted the cause of American independence.

Sir William Howe had been fully apprised of the unfortunate condition of his adversary's affairs, and he may well be excused for having treated the war as already at an end. New York was a British garrison: New Jersey completely subdued and occupied by his forces; while Pennsylvania, disheartened and menaced with invasion, seemed about to relinquish all resistance, and prepared to terminate the contest by surrender and submission. All the troops who were entitled to discharges, had quitted the ill-omened ranks of the continental army, and at the commencement of the new year, the dispersion would be almost complete. Nothing then appeared to be necessary, but to wait until the ice should render the river passable, when such a blow could be directed against the American commander, as would close finally the struggles of the young republic. In the midst of these cheering

prospects, he found himself suddenly assailed in his positions-a part of his army cut off-and the war revived with new vigour by a skilful and indefatigable adversary. Notwithstanding the advanced state of the season, active operations were at once resolved upon; and for this purpose the British troops were collected together in great strength and high state of preparation.

1777. The American general, encouraged by his late brilliant success, now determined to contend for a footing in the state of Jersey. The army repassed the Delaware and took post at Trenton, where it soon found itself in front of a superior force, owing to a movement in advance of Lord Cornwallis. A little creek called the Assumpink was all that divided the two armies, but night separated the combatants and afforded the opportunity for new combinations. It was evident to Washington that the conflict to which he was exposed, presented no hope of a favourable result, and that a retreat across the river before his present enemy appeared likely to prove a still more disastrous alternative. Amid these critical difficulties, the daring resolution was taken to decamp from his present position, gain the rear of the enemy at Princeton, overthrow the division posted in that town, and then move upon Brunswick, where a weak force guarded the principal depots of the British army. If these extensive operations were followed by an immediate pursuit on the part of Cornwallis, no apprehension was to be entertained for Philadelphia; but if, on the contrary, he pushed forward to that city, the injury, though severe, would be indemnified by the loss of the magazines, the cutting up in detail of the British detachments, and the complete reconquest of the state of Jersey. At one in the morning of the 3d of January, the camp fires were renewed and the guard paraded as usual; but the army had silently begun its movement upon Princeton, which was known to be occupied by three British regiments. At a short distance from the town they encountered two of these regiments marching forward in order to cooperate in the expected battle; and a warm engagement immediately commenced. The American general was well aware that the existence of his country hung suspended in the scale of victory, and he exerted himself as one who knew the importance of the object, and felt that success depended on his efforts. Wherever the fire was hottest, or the press of battle most fearful, Washington was sure to be found guiding the thunders of war, and animating all by his language and example. At length the British line was broken, and the two regiments separated. Colonel Mawhood, with the division in the van, pushed rapidly forward for the main army, while the fifty-fifth cut off from this point of support, fled in confusion across the fields to Brunswick. The Americans now pressed the remaining regiment, which at first attempted a defence in the college; but this was soon abandoned, and those who were not captured escaped only by precipitate flight. The British loss amounted to one hundred killed, and three hundred prisoners; the conquerors had to lament the death of General Mercer, an

experienced officer, much respected by the commander-in-chief.

These remarkable movements upon Trenton and Princeton, contain in themselves all the principles of strategy which are usually considered the original inventions of the French revolution. As examples of a genius beyond the progress of the age, they are brilliant evidences of the military skill of the commander, and have received the meed of unanimous admiration. Sir William Howe had every reason to suppose that his arrangements were those of a prudent and skilful general; his retirement into winter quarters during the inclemency of the season, was justified by the regular customs of the time, founded on the accepted conclusions of military science. But he was opposed to an adversary capable of detecting the errors of ancient dogmas, and strong enough to break their trammels, when their fallacy stood unveiled before his judgment. We have seen Washington keeping the field and preserving the vigour of his operations, in spite of the rules which commanded inactivity; and the British army found its divisions attacked and defeated in detail, while they considered themselves in perfect safety under the shield of all former experience. That principle of warfare which was the secret of Napoleon's victories-the production of a local superiority of force, by concentration against a distant position-was evidently a part of Washington's reasoning, and a main reliance for the success of his enterprises.

The two battles, though similar in their outlines, were very different in point of conception and execution. The attack upon Trenton was a blow struck against an enemy in position, which admitted, therefore, of every advantage of preparation on the part of the assailant. The battle of Princeton belonged to a higher and more elaborate order of tactics. The American forces were already engaged with a superior army, commanded by an officer of eminent reputation; and the change of plan was wholly contrived and executed with the enemy in front. It was entirely due to the prompt genius and fertile resources of Washington, that his army was extricated from so perilous an exposure, and enabled to attack the enemy's rear with such advantage as to leave it no choice but surrender or flight. A military critic, contemplating these inspirations with a soldier's eye, can easily appreciate the feelings of the Great Frederick, when he sent a sword to the American commander, as a gift from the world's oldest general to its best.

As a natural result of these unexpected manœuvres, the British officers were thrown into a state of uncertainty, which gave to their subsequent operations an unusual character of timidity. The distant roll of the American artillery at Princeton, first announced to Lord Cornwallis the danger of his rear and the escape of his active adversary. Alarmed for the safety of his magazines, the British commander instantly broke up from the Assumpink, and commenced a forced march upon New Bruns wick; moving with such celerity, as nearly to overtake the American rear at Princeton. On the other hand Sir William Howe drew in all his forces,

by concentration in the neighbourhood of Amboy and Brunswick, and abandoned all hope of preventing the recruiting service, by overawing the whole extent of the country. Washington, finding the surprise of the stores impossible, moved northward into the Highlands of Jersey, in order to afford some relief to the fatigues of his troops; for long and severe exposure to the inclemencies of the winter, without the usual protections, had produced sickness and even complaint. It was finally considered necessary to abandon offensive operations, and to put the army under cover at Morristown. Among other prudent precautions adopted during this temporary respite, the commander in chief caused the whole army to be inoculated; an operation then very uncommon in America, but which enabled him thereafter to defy a disease which had proved more fatal than the sword of the enemy.

The situation of American affairs-though far from brilliant-was much improved by the late successes. The people of Jersey rose with fresh spirit, and in a number of small skirmishes inflicted loss upon the enemy both in men and stores: new hope was made to animate the public mind; while Congress fanned the flame by judicious and well-timed incitements to vigorous action. Washington was authorised to raise sixteen regiments, and in further testimony of the public confidence, he was invested for six months with almost dictatorial powers in the conduct of the war. It was, however, found to be impossible to collect a sufficient force for active operations upon any considerable scale during the winter. All the hopes of the commander in chief were therefore turned to the next campaign; and in the mean time, an active warfare was carried on with small posts and foraging parties, which greatly annoyed the British army; while the frequent reports of fresh successes excited the spirit of the American people. The most earnest applications were made to the several states, for reinforcements enlisted upon longer terms; for, as Washington strongly observed," to the short engagements of our troops may be fairly and justly ascribed almost every misfortune that we have experienced." These representations produced at last their due impression; and the hope was abandoned of defending the country by hasty assemblages of militia, and of carrying on a protracted warfare upon the impulse and mere foundation of disinterested patriotism. The safety of our firesides, and the honour of the American arms must always require other and more efficient preparations.

When the season for active operations returned, Sir William Howe directed his first attention to the surprise and destruction of the American mag. azines. The town of Peekskill on the North river was used as a deposit for the munitions to be distributed among the troops in the Highlands: and at Danbury in Connecticut, there was a considerable collection of useful military stores. These places were attacked by means of expeditions forwarded in shipping, and much damage was done not easily repaired. On the other side, the British stores at Sagg harbour on Long Island, were destroyed by a bold movement executed by Colonel Meigs: who

captured also an armed schooner and a number of vessels laden with forage.

The whole continental army under the command of Washington, though much increased, numbered at the commencement of the campaign less than nine thousand men, of whom nearly one third were confined to the hospitals. Exposed under these circumstances to a greatly superior foe, the Fabian policy of caution, delay and strong intrenchments, strongly recommended itself to the general in chief, as the only system of warfare that offered a prospect of ultimate success. From the camp at Morristown, the army was therefore removed to a fortified position at Middlebrook, where it commanded a full view of the enemy's operations, and of the most important points to which they were likely to be directed. A body of militia, with a few regulars, under General Arnold, were also assembled on the western bank of the Delaware, to oppose the passage of that river, in case it should be attempted by the British.

The main object of Sir William Howe, was the capture of Philadelphia; but with a broad and guarded river in front, it was evident that no advance could be made until a blow had been struck against the main continental army. It was equally plain that the lines at Middlebrook were too strong to be the object of direct attack. Sad experience had taught the British general how formidable is the slightest intrenchment protected by the fatal fire of American musketry: his only chance was in the resources of strategy, by which he hoped to seduce the American commander from his position on the heights; to engage on equal terms in the broad plains of Jersey, and to obtain a signal victory by the power of numerical superiority. Accord ingly the British forces were made to assume the appearance of an immediate advance upon Philadelphia: marches and countermarches were executed: and every contrivance resorted to, that was considered likely to excite the anxiety of Washington, and to occasion an incautious change in his prudent preparations. The object and plans of the enemy were, however, from the very beginning, wisely foreseen and understood. were followed; but nothing could entice the American army from the strong fastnesses which always covered their marches and encampments. Sir William Howe saw each day the same lowering cloud hanging above and around him; but he found also-like the ancient Carthaginian-that he had no power to disperse its threatening masses, or to command even its thunders to break upon him in the plain.

The British commander was at length wearied out by this unprofitable contest with an enemy who was neither to be deceived nor overpowered. Protected by their position, he fully appreciated the physical force of the American army: and having now fully tested the skill of his adversary, he was satisfied that there was nothing to be gained in the conflict of military science. A new plan was therefore resolved upon, which in its first step involved nothing less than the total abandonment of the state of New Jersey. The British forces fell back to