Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-11-18

much.
It's laughable to hear Mr.. Warrington
talk ofhis sympathetic tseliags, who has
always been remarked, even among his
frieads, for not having any. He has,
however, given no proof of any TO me.
As to the pompous encomiams he 10 llber-
ally pays to himielf, on the fcore Of the
American revolution, the reality OF them
be queRioned !; and 1ince he has forced
them 70 much into notice 1t Is fair to ex-
anime his pretenflons.
A Granger might be led to fuppole from
the ego.ifm with which Mr.. Wathing-
ton fpeaks, that himfelf, and himlelf only,
had generated, conducted, complicated,
and ettablilhed the revolution: In fine,
that it was all his own doing.
In the frlt place, as TO the political
part, he had No lhare i'll it and therefore
the whole of this is out Of the queaion,
with refpea to him. There remains then
only the military part, and it would have
been prudent in Mr.. Warrington not to
have awakened enquiry upon that {ubjea.
Fame then was cheap he enjoyed II
cheaply; and nobody was difpoled to
take away the laurels, that, whether they
were acquired or not, had been given.
Mr.. Wafhington's merit conhfed in
confancy. But confancy was the COM
mon virtue of the revolution. Who was
there that was inconaant / know Of
but one military detection, that of Ar
nold; and | know of no political defec-
ton, among thofe who made themielves
eminent, when tie revolution was formed
By the declaration of independence. =
Even Silas Deane, though he attempted
to defraud, did not betray.
But when we fpeak of military charac-
ter, fomething more is TO be underfood
than coneancy and fomething more
ought to be underfood than the Fabian
lyttem of doing nothing. The nothing
part can be done by any body. Old
Mrs. Thompfon, the houfe- keeper of
head quarters (who threatened to make
the Gun and the wind fhine through Ri
vington of New York. could have done
it as well as MIR. Warrington. De-
borah would have been as good as Ba-
rak.
FIR. Warrington had the nomina! rank
OF Commander in chief but he was not
70 in fae. He had in reality only ie.
perate command. He had no cortroul
over, or direction of, the army to the
northward, under Gates, that capture9
Burgoyne, nor of thar to the fouth, under
Green, that recovered the foushe!n States.
The nominal rank, however, of Com
mander in chief, ferved to throw upon
him the luRre Of thoie actions, and to
make him appear as the foul and centre of
all the military operations 10 America.
He commenced his command June,
1775, during the time the Maaaehufet,s
army lay before Bottom, and after the
affair of Bunker hill. The commence
ment of his command was the commence
ment of inactivity. Nothing was after
wards done, during the nine months he
remained before Bottom. If we may Judge
from the reGitance made at Concord, and
afterwards at Bunker hill, there was a
fpirit of enterprife at that time, which
the preience of Mr.. Walhing ton chilled
into cold defence. By the advantage of a
good exterior, he attracts refpet, which
his habitual lilence tends to preferve
but he has not the talent of infpiring ar
dour in an army. The enemy removed
from Bottom in March 1916, TO wait for
reinforcements from Earope, and to take
more advantageous petition at New
York. The inactivity of the campaign
of IT'S, on the partof General Waih
ington, when the enemy had lefs force
thanin any future period of the war, and
the injudicious choice of petitions taken
by him in the campaign OF 1916, when,