have introduced into a letter, and leave the arrangement and style to the amanuensis. At other times he would dictate in detail the substance of a despatch; and again, when the subject was of minor importance, he would give general directions only, which the secretary would embody in his own language.

There is no feature more remarkable, however, in the whole series of correspondence, than the similarity which prevails throughout in the style, the turns of expression, the habits of thought, and particularly the methods of stating facts and enforcing arguments. This will be obvious upon a very slight inspection; and no stronger proof can be required of the pervading influence of one master-mind, whatever instruments it may have employed to communicate its sentiments and effect its designs. It should be stated, moreover, that the originals of many of the ablest and best written papers, which will appear in the present work, may still be seen in the handwriting of the author. It is a mistake, which some have been too ready to adopt, that he was not accustomed to composition. The truth is, he commenced the habit very early, and practised it assiduously till the end of his life. It is equally true, that his defective education qualified him but indifferently to attain elegance or even accuracy of style. But he knew when his thoughts were clearly and forcibly expressed. To convey his meaning with directness and emphasis was his chief study. Though he frequently betrayed a want of skill in the construction of his sentences, yet he was fastidious in the use of words, as is manifest from the numerous verbal erasures and insertions in his original manuscripts. Indeed he seldom suffered a paper of any sort to go out of his hands, even an ordinary letter of friendship or business, without first composing and correcting it with studious care, and then transcribing a fair

copy. Bundles of letters to the managers of his farms, written in the midst of his weightiest public duties, afford a striking testimony to this fact.

The notes and other illustrations, comprised in this Second Part of the work, have been drawn from materials of the highest authenticity, collected in a wide range of research, and with much expense of time and labor. In the first place, the letters received by Washington during the war, amounting to several thousands in number, the records of councils of war and courtsmartial, the opinions of the general officers on important subjects, the orderly books, resolves of public bodies, and reports of committees, all of which are among his papers, afford a rich treasure of facts, to which I have constantly resorted. The manuscript papers relating to the revolution, which are deposited in the office of the Secretary of State at Washington, containing all that remains of the proceedings and correspondence of the Old Continental Congress, I have also personally examined. For the same purpose I have visited the several States, which belonged to the original Confederation and took part in the war, and have examined in the public offices of each State the manuscript papers appertaining to the period under consideration. It has moreover been my good fortune, through the politeness of individuals, to gain access to many private collections of papers, including the entire correspondence of several of the major and brigadier generals of the army, the members of the Old Congress, and other civil and military officers of distinction. The materials thus collected, being original and perfectly authentic, and proceeding from the highest sources, possess a value which may easily be estimated.

In England and France my researches were pursued with no less perseverance and success. With a liber

ality on the part of the governments of both these countries, which demands the warmest acknowledgments, I was permitted to inspect in the public archives all the papers, which relate to the American war. The task occupied nearly twelve months of close application, but the labor was abundantly rewarded by the results. The British offices opened to me the complete correspondence of the ministers, Lord Dartmouth and Lord George Germain, with the governors of the colonies at the beginning of the contest, and with the commanders in America during the whole war, namely, Generals Gage, Howe, Burgoyne, Clinton, Robertson, Carleton, Cornwallis, and others of subordinate rank. The original correspondence of the British Commissioners, while negotiating the peace in Paris, was likewise examined; and also the original papers presented from time to time by Lord North to Parliament.

In Paris my researches embraced the voluminous correspondence between Count Vergennes and the French ministers, Gerard and Luzerne, while they were in the United States, amounting in all to nearly four hundred despatches, and unfolding the policy and views of the French government from the beginning to the end of the war; also Mémoires and other papers on American affairs, written by members of the cabinet, or by able jurisconsults employed for that purpose. In the archives of the Department of War, the despatches of Count Rochambeau, and other officers commanding the French army in America, were submitted to my examination, and such copies as I desired were allowed to be taken.

I feel it a duty, as well as a pleasure, to express on this occasion the very high obligations, which I have been under to several gentlemen in Europe, who rendered most generous and valuable services in promoting

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the object of my inquiries, particularly to Sir James Mackintosh, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and Lord Holland, in London; to General Lafayette and the Marquis de Marbois, in Paris; and to these I may add Mr. Lawrence, at that time Chargé d'Affaires from the United States to the Court of Great Britain; and Mr. Brown, the American Minister Plenipotentiary in France.

From the large extent and various nature of the papers above indicated, it is obvious that only a partial use can be made of them in illustrating the writings of Washington; yet, as they all have a bearing on the great train of events, in which he acted the most conspicuous part, they contain many particulars explanatory of the designs of persons and parties, which could not be known at the time he wrote, and others that will throw additional light upon the topics which employed his pen, and the affairs in which he was engaged. In preparing the notes, I have relied almost exclusively on manuscript authorities, and avoided as much as possible the encumbering of the pages with matter, which is already accessible in printed books. By this process I trust it will be found, that some valuable accessions have been made to history, at the same time that the character and deeds of Washington have received new elucidation.

The plans of battles and military movements, which are occasionally inserted for a better understanding of the text, have been compiled from the best drawings that could be procured, as well English and French as American. In this design I have been specially aided by a series of manuscript drawings in the possession of General Lafayette, which were taken by a French engineer attached to his staff, and which are executed with scientific accuracy and beauty. Some of the old drawings, published at the time in London from imper

fect sketches and surveys, I have been able to correct by the documents, to which I have had access, and by actual inspection, having personally visited nearly all the localities, which were the theatre of the chief operations of the American revolutionary war. No pains have been spared to give these plans all the accuracy, of which they are susceptible on so small a scale, and with the present means of information.