the fort. Before they could form a junction, however, and reach their destination, Cornwallis appeared before it. A defense against such superior force was hopeless. The works were abandoned; they were taken possession of by the enemy, who proceeded to destroy them. After the destruction had been accomplished, the reinforcements from the North, so long and so anxiously expected, and so shamefully delayed, made their appearance. "Had they arrived but ten days sooner," writes Washington to his brother, "it would, I think, have put it in my power to save Fort Mifflin, which defended the chevaux-de-frise, and consequently have rendered Philadelphia a very ineligible situation for the enemy this winter."

The troops arrived in ragged plight, owing to the derangement of the commissariat. A part of Morgan's rifle corps was absolutely unable to take the field for want of shoes, and such was the prevalent want in this particular, that ten dollars reward was offered in general orders for a model of the best substitute for shoes that could be made out of raw hides.

The evil which Washington had so anxiously striven to prevent had now been effected. The American vessels stationed in the river had lost all protection. Some of the galleys escaped past the batteries of Philadelphia in a fog, and

British in Control of the River

29

took refuge in the upper part of the Delaware; the rest were set on fire by their crews and abandoned.

The enemy were now in possession of the river, but it was too late in the season to clear away the obstructions, and open a passage for the large ships. All that could be effected at present, was to open a sufficient channel for transports and vessels of easy burden, to bring provisions and supplies for the army.

Washington advised the navy board, now that the enemy had command of the river, to have all the American frigates scuttled and sunk immediately. The board objected to sinking them, but said that they should be ballasted and plugged, ready to be sunk in case of an attack. Washington warned them that an attack would be sudden, so as to get possession of them before they could be sunk or destroyed; his advice and warning were unheeded; the consequences will hereafter be shown.

Chapter 111.

Question of an Attack on Philadelphia-General Reed at Headquarters-Enemy's Works Reconnoitered-Opinions in a Council of War-Exploit of Lafayette-Receives Command of a Division-Modification of the Board of War-Gates to PresideLetter of Lovell-Sally Forth of General HoweEvolutions and Skirmishes-Conway InspectorGeneral-Consultation about Winter QuartersDreary March to Valley Forge-Hutting-Washington's Vindicatory Letters-Retrospect of the Year.

Ο

N the evening of the 24th of November Washington reconnoitered, carefully and thoughtfully, the lines and

defenses about Philadelphia, from the opposite side of the Schuylkill. His army was now considerably reinforced; the garrison was weakened by the absence of a large body of troops under Lord Cornwallis in the Jerseys. Some of the general officers thought this an advantageous moment for an attack upon the

Reed at Beadquarters

31

city. Such was the opinion of Lord Stirling, and especially General Wayne, Mad Anthony, as he was familiarly called, always eager for some daring enterprise. The recent victory at Saratoga had dazzled the public mind, and produced a general impatience for something. equally striking and effective in that quarter. Reed, Washington's former secretary, now a brigadier-general, shared largely in this feeling. He had written a letter to Gates, congratulating him on having "reduced his proud and insolent enemy to the necessity of laying his arms at his feet"; assuring him that it would "enroll his name with the happy few who shine in history, not as conquerors, but as distinguished generals. I have for some time," adds he, "volunteered with this army, which, notwithstanding the labors and efforts of its amiable chief, has yet gathered no laurels."'*

Reed was actually at headquarters as a volunteer, again enjoying much of Washington's confidence, and anxious that he should do something to meet the public wishes. Washington was aware of this prevalent feeling, and that it was much wrought on by the intrigues of designing men, and by the sarcasms of the press. He was now reconnoitering the enemy's works to judge of the policy of the proposed * Reed to Gates. Gates's Papers.

attack. "A vigorous exertion is under consideration," writes Reed; "God grant it may be successful !"*

Everything in the neighborhood of the enemy's lines bore traces of the desolating hand of war. Several houses, owned probably by noted patriots, had been demolished; others burnt. Villas stood roofless; their doors and windows, and all the woodwork, had been carried off to make huts for the artillery. Nothing but bare walls remained. Gardens had been trampled down and destroyed; not a fence nor fruit-tree was to be seen. The gathering gloom of a November evening heightened the sadness of this desolation.

With an anxious eye Washington scrutinized the enemy's works. They appeared to be exceedingly strong. A chain of redoubts extended along the most commanding ground from the Schuylkill to the Delaware. They were framed, planked, and of great thickness, and were surrounded by a deep ditch, inclosed and fraised. The intervals were filled with an abatis, in constructing which all the appletrees of the neighborhood, besides forest trees, had been sacrificed.†

The idea of Lord Stirling and those in favor * Reed to President Wharton.

+ Life and Cor. of Reed, vol. i., p. 341.