given the rank and pay of lieutenant-colonel, and who had exercised the office of aid-major in France, was soon after employed likewise as an inspector. * In a little while the whole army was under drill; for a great part, made up of raw militia, scarcely knew the manual exercise. Many of the officers, too, knew little of maneuvering, and the best of them had much to learn. The baron furnished his sub-inspectors with written instructions relative to their several functions. He took a company of soldiers under his immediate training, and after he had sufficiently schooled it, made it a model for the others, exhibiting the maneuvers they had to practice. He It was a severe task at first for the aid-de-camp of the Great Frederick to operate upon such raw materials. His ignorance of the language, too, increased the difficulty, where maneuvers were to be explained or rectified. was in despair, until an officer of a New York regiment, Captain Walker, who spoke French, stepped forward and offered to act as interpreter. "Had I seen an angel from heaven," says the baron, "I could not have been more rejoiced." He made Walker his aid-de-camp, and from that time had him always at hand. For a time, there was nothing but drills throughout the camp, then gradually came evolutions of every kind. The officers were schooled as well as the men. The troops, says a person who was present in the camp, were paraded in a single line with shouldered arms; every officer in his place. The baron passed in front, then took the musket of each soldier in hand to see whether it was clean and well polished, * Washington to the President of Congress. Sparks, vol. v., p. 347. and examined whether the men's accouterments were in good order. He was sadly worried for a time with the militia; especially when any maneuver was to be performed. The men blundered in their exercise; the baron blundered in his English; his French and German were of no avail; he lost his temper, which was rather warm; swore in all three languages at once, which made the matter worse, and at length called his aid to bis assistance; to help him curse the blockheads, as it was pretended-but no doubt to explain the maneuver.* Still the grand-marshal of the court of Hohenzollern mingled with the veteran soldier of Frederick, and tempered his occasional bursts of impatience, and he had a kind, generous heart, that soon made him a favorite with the men. His discipline extended to their comforts. He inquired into their treatment by the officers. He examined the doctor's reports; visited the sick, and saw that they were well lodged and attended. He was an example, too, of the regularity and system he exacted. One of the most alert and indefatigable men in the camp; up at daybreak if not before, whenever there were to be any important maneuvers, he took his cup of coffee and smoked his pipe while his servant dressed his hair, and by sunrise he was in the saddle, equipped at all points, with the star of his order of knighthood glittering on his breast, * On one occasion, having exhausted all his German and French oaths, he vociferated to his aid-de-camp, Major Walker, "Vien mon ami Walker-vien mon bon ami. Sacra -G-dam de gaucherie of dese badauts-je ne puis plus-I can curse dem no more."-Carden, Anecdotes of the American War, p. 341. and was off to the parade alone, if his suite were not ready to attend him. The strong good sense of the baron was evinced in the manner in which he adapted his tactics to the nature of the army and the situation of the country, instead of adhering with bigotry to the systems of Europe. His instructions were appreciated by all. The officers received them gladly and conformed to them. The men soon became active and adroit. The army gradually acquired a proper organization, and began to operate like a great machine; and Washington found in the baron an intelligent, disinterested, truthful coadjutor, well worthy of the badge he wore as a knight of the Order of Fidelity. Another great satisfaction to Washington was the appointment by Congress (March 3d) of Greene to the office of quartermaster-general; still retaining his rank of majorgeneral in the army. The confusion and derangement of this department during the late campaign, while filled by General Mifflin, had been a source of perpetual embarrassment. That officer, however capable of doing his duty, was hardly ever at hand. The line and the staff were consequently at variance; and the country was plundered in a way sufficient to breed a civil war between the staff and the inhabitants. Washington was often obliged to do the duties of the office himself, until he declared to the Committee of Congress that "he would stand quartermaster no longer. Greene undertook the office with reluctance, and agreed to perform the military duties of it without compensation for the space of a year. He found it in great disorder and confusion, but by extraordinary exertions and excellent system *Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. ii., p. 274. so arranged it as to put the army in a condition to take the field and move with rapidity the moment it should be required.* The favor in which Greene stood with the commander-inchief was a continual cause of mean jealousy and cavil among the intriguing and envious; but it arose from the abundant proofs Washington had received, in times of trial and difficulty, that he had a brave, affectionate heart, a sound head, and an efficient arm, on all of which he could thoroughly rely. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Fortifications of the Hudson-Project to surprise Sir Henry Clinton -General Howe forages the Jerseys-Ships and Stores burned at Bordentown-Plans for the next Campaign-Gates and Mifflin under Washington's Command-Downfall of Conway-Lord North's Conciliatory Bills--Sent to Washington by Governor Tryon-Resolves of Congress-Letter of Washington to Tryon -Rejoicing at Valley Forge-The Mischianza THE Highlands of the Hudson had been carefully reconnoitered in the course of the winter by General Putnam, Governor Clinton, his brother James, and several others, and subsequently by a committee from the New York Legislature, to determine upon the most eligible place to be fortified. West Point was ultimately chosen; and Putnam was urged by Washington to have the works finished as soon as possible. The general being called to Connecticut by his private affairs, and being involved in an inquiry to be made into the loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, Major-general McDougall was ordered to the Highlands, to take command * Washington to Greene.-Writings of Washington, vol. vii., p. 152. of the different posts in that department, and to press forward the construction of the works, in which he was to be assisted by Kosciuszko as engineer. Before General McDougall's arrival, Brigadier-general Parsons had commanded at West Point. A letter of Washington to the latter suggests an enterprise of a somewhat romantic character. It was no less than to pounce upon Sir Henry Clinton and carry him off prisoner from his headquarters in the city of New York. The general was quartered in the Kennedy house near the Battery, and but a short distance from the Hudson. His situation was rather lonely; most of the houses in that quarter having been consumed in the great fire. A retired way led from it through a back yard or garden to the river bank; where Greenwich Street extends at present. The idea of Washington was that an enterprising party should embark in eight or ten whale-boats at King's Ferry, just below the Highlands, on the first of the ebb, and early in the evening. In six or eight hours, with change of hands, the boats might be rowed under the shadows of the western shore, and approach New York with muffled oars. There were no ships of war at that time on that side of the city; all were in the East River. The officers and men to be employed in the enterprise were to be dressed in red, and much in the style of the British soldiery. Having captured Sir Henry, they might return in their swift whale boats with the flood tide, or a party of horse might meet them at Fort Lee. "What guards may be at or near his quarters, I cannot say with precision," writes Washington, "and therefore shall not add anything on this score. But I think it one of the most practicable, and surely it will be among the most desirable and honorable things imaginable to take him prisoner." |