The Red Cloud chief., 1876-12-07
November. l11G.

November, 4 hundred Years ago. Was
American arms. 1t is easy To Judge Of
the wisdom or of the folly of the acts
Of warriors or OF statesmen by liz.
light of subsequent events; hUt Ia face
the present and forecast the future i
the duty which the actor IN arms or III
policy have Before them. Whilst the
heroic patience and hope of G,uortl
Washington are now the theme ct
-, niS contemporaries were hy no
means unanimous IN their confidence:
and the officers under his nominal
command severely tried lis patience.
where any show of an alternative WIS
presented, 10y taking their own view.
ana dlSIegarding the known wishes of
the COmmander-in-Chicf. Yet while
Tie patriotism of THESE men was and IS
disputed, the unprecedented student can
not fail To admit that the disasters of
November were heightened, if not
caused, by the diSagrrrlng PURPOSES of
the General and bis officers.
And, on the other hand. the mistaken
policy of the English commanders
the folly of which is low universally
conccded-WaS more S~eryicpahlt to the
American cause than a victory would
have been. Rhode Island WAS invaded
AMI occupied 10y a large iorca dgainSt
which the Americans could not con
tend. But the troops detailed for this
purpose. had Ciinton's advice been fol
lowed. could have been eftrctually IN
ploHed III the occupation of New .Icr-
Sey, and perhaps have caused the com
plete destruction of W~ashington'S army.
Fort Washington. the last pos: held
bv the Americans Oh the New York
side of the Hudson. surrendered 70 ;h.
British with two thousand SIX hun
dred prisoners. on the 10th. There was
no lack of gallantTy on either side.
The Americans had TIE ADVANTAGE or
position. the British the superiority in
numbers. The slain ami wounded nf
the Americans amounted L. y hundred
and fifty. The loss OF the British w3S
above five hundred. The greatest VIC
tory of the day WAS the Conquest of his
own spirit 10y the American Comm,D-
derin-Chief. In the delicate pos;yrr
of the affairs of the Young republic.
Washington preferred 10 suffer blame
rather than emharraSS the cause of.bjs
country by efforts at Naturalization.
He even apolog!zed Tor the mistakes Of
others.
On the Doth. Fort Lee, on the Jersey
side OF the Hudson. was evacuated. rs
no longer tenahle. the British hayinc
crossed III such forcethat To defend the
post was impossible. The withdrawal
OF the garrison of two thousand men
was made in extreme haste. but Wash
ington SO covered the retreat that less
than a hundred prisoners Were taken
by the British. But the Americans
lost or left behind all their camp
equipage. and in most cases even their
blankets; and. with no commissaria-
worth the name 10 fall back upon. had
10 face the rig0rS Of the waning season.
And now follows the retreat through
the JERSEYS" over the PaSSaic to New
ark: from Newark. after a few DAYS.
10 Brunswick: from Brunswick t.
Princeton: thence to Trenton: and
thence. on the Stll of December. across
the Delaware. The advance Of the
British army often overlook the real
guard of the Americans: and the Brit
ish reached Trenton just in season 10
see the last of the Americans safely
over and beyond their reach. Fer
Washington had sent his sick and his
stores over in advance, and had de-
str0yed all the boats for miles above
and below. Maior-General Charles
Lee. who was with his command in
WestcheSter county. Nsw York. at the
time of the fall of Fort Washington.
though frequently ordered 70 join
Washington, failed to do So. but lin
gered and delayed. in the effort 10 carry
out his own purpose. His misfortune
in New Jersey belongs to the notes on
the month of December.