The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1850-11-20

only moos band oi rb~sa. The cona.
iry Vas placed in eirrans iznres Of PERU
liar difficulty and danger. The ar gsIe
had began. and yes essfy thing MAS wilh-
oui order. The great uisl now seemed
10 be ihis question: Who shall be the
commsnderin Chef, ID Ilwasexeseding.
inely important. and as ielf 10 Be he
hinge on which The contest might turn lar
OF against rs. The southern and lhr md.
die Slales. warm and rapid m their zeal
for The most pari. were jealous Of New
England. because they fell The real physi-
cal force was here; what then Was 10 be
donei All New England sdored Gen.
Ward he hsd been in the French wa,
sad wrni oul laden with lanrels. He was
scholar and states man. Every quali-
iealion seemed 10 cluster in him; and il
was confidently believed that The army
would not receive any appointment over
him. What was then TO be done Dl-
heuliies lhickened al every step. The
struggle was 10 be long and bloody. With
on, union all was lost. The country, aud
The whole country must come in. One
pulsalion must beat through all hearts.
The cause was one and the army must be
one. The members had laked. debated,
considered and guessed. and yet The de-
cisive step had not been taken. AiIenglh
Mr.. Adams came 10 his conclusion. The
means of resolving il were somewhat sim
gulsr. and nearly as follows: he walked
one morning before Congress Hall. appa-
renlly in deep thought. when his cousin
Samuel Adams came up 10 him and
said:
"Whas is The topic with you This morn
ing I"
.Oh. The army" he replied. "rm
determined 10 90 into the hall this morn
ing and enter on full detail Of The state
Of the colonies. in order 10 show the alb.
soluie need Of asking some decisive steps.
My whole aim viii be 10 induce Congress
10 appoint the day for adopting The army
as The legal army Of these united colonies
of North America. and then 10 hint at the
selection OF Csmmander-in.C Chief"
WELL" said Samuel Adams, ~ like
that. cousin John; but on whom have
you fixed as Ina, commander :"
IL will tell you--6colgc Washington,
Of Virginia, member of This House."
| "Oh," replied Samuel Adams, quick.
~, that will never da---neyer."
III nast do, il shall do" said John,
.and for these reasons: the Southern and
Middle States are both 10 enter heartily
in the cause; and their arguments are po-
tent! they say that New England holds
The physical power in her hands, and they
fear the results. A New England com.
mander. with New England troops, per.
severance. all united. sppsl them. For
this cause they hang back. Now the
only course is TO allay their fears, and
give them nothing TO complain of; and
this can be done in no other way but by
appointing Southern chief over this
force, and then all will rush TO the stan
dard. This policy will blend US in one
mass. and that mass will be resislless.'
AT This. Samuel Adams seemed greatly
moved. They talked over the preIimi.
nary circumstances, and John asked his
cousin 10 second the motion. Mr.. Adams
went in, took the floor, and put all his
strength in the delineaiions he had pre-
pared. all aiming AT the adoption Of the
army. He was ready TO own The army,
appoint commander, vote supplies, and
proceed to business. Alter his speech
had been finished, some doubted, some
feared. His warmth increased with the
occasion, and TO all these doubts and hesi-
taions he replied:
Genlemen. il this Congress will not
adopt This army, before len moons have
set, New England will adopt il. and she
will continue the struggle alone---yes. with
strong arm. and clean conscience, she
will front the foe single handed"
This had the desired effect. They saw
New England was neither playing. nor 10
be played with. They agreed to appoint
. day. A day was fixed. Il came. Mr..
Adams went in, took The floor. urged The
measure. and after some debate i, pass
ed.
The next thing was 10 get a comman-
der for This army, with supplies, &c. All
looked to Mr.. Adams on the occasion,
and he was ready. He took the floor
and went into minute delinsation Of the
character Of Gen. Ward. besiowing on
him the encomiums which then belonged
to no one else. Al the end Of the eulogy,
he said. but this is not the man | have
chosen" He then went into the define.
alton Of the character OF commander-i
chief, such as was required by the pecu.
liar situation Of The colonists at this iunc-
ture, And after he had presented the
qualifications in this slronges, language,
and given The reasons, for the nomination
he was about TO make, lie said:
"Genllemen, | know these quali6ca-
tions are high, but we all know they are
needfal in This chief. Does anv one say
they are no, TO be obtained in this ooun-
Try! In reply. have 10 say they are;
they reside in one Of our own body, and
he rs the Derson whom I pox naminate