Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1905-12-22
Christmas at Valley Forge
What Washington Had to Contend With,
and How His Strength Of Manhood
Was Shown.
[Roland Rlngwalt In phIIadelphIa LEDGER.

was ONOWn,
| ireland Ringwalt in Philadelphia Ledger.
One of the first historic pictures that
| rises to a childs view is that of Valley
| Forge. An imaginative boy can easily
| fancy the wretched quarters, the barefoot
| ed troops and the red marks on the snow.
But boyhood gives way to manhood be-
| fore one can, even in a slight degree. put
himself in Washington's place. and think
| over some of the thoughts that came TO
| George Washington i'm the silent winter
| mornings and the shrill windy nights of n
Christmas season that was far from
| merry.
a thousand times a day people tell us
| that nothing succeeds like success, but It
is quite as true that nothing fails like
| failure. Washington had seen enough
OF failure, heart sickening, bloody failure
to make him loathe the sight of a camp
In his early manhood he had been cursed
| by the martinez Braddock, and had wit
| messed the wholesale slaughter of his COM
rades. Now that a greater war had come
he had left his plantation for service in
! the field, and had failed to satisfy his
country, to satisfy the army, and to salts
| fy himself 1t was not possible to give
raw troops the discipline OF British veter-
| ans, and as a rule battlefelds had ended
in American reverses. The enemy had n
| firm grasp on New York and had recently
| clutched Philadelphia 1t seemed impos-
| sible that farm hands and wood choppers
could overcome regular troops Washing
| ton could look back to White Plains and
Brandywine, or look around him on SILVER
| ing ana bleeding men, or look upward TO
the wintry sky, but there did not seem
TO be anything save a possible French
| alliance, to which he could look forward
| Inc most ignorant slaves knew that the
soldiers at Valley Forge lacked rations
ana shoes; but the commander-in-chief
/ ~ mrrlNa.
the rations and shoes, he could hold his
own against soldiers sure OF being disci-
| pllned and sure of being paid
In all the English novels the old sailors
curse the Admiralty, and the curses OF
fiction echo those of fact. Strong men.
| familiar with the management of armies
or fleets, invariably chafe under civilian
red tape. Washington was jbeset by Off
clal dullness and harassed by absurd com
plants. Stupid politicians supposed that
| a thousand Americans could, under any
circumstances, conquer 500 British. II the
| 1000 Americans had not learned the barest
! rudiments of drill. and the 500 Englishmen
had served for half a dozen years. that
! made no difference to the wiseacres
| somebody was always inquiring why our
! superior numbers had not routed or cap
tured some inferior force, and generally
| these inquiries proceeded from somebody
| who kept at a safe distance from outposts
| and batteries. The talent OF Congress in
moving from place to place is not Of it.
| self blamable. Nobody expected civilians
| deliberately to stop and wait for the
| British to hang them. But a legislative
body which was continually on the re-
| treat need not have been so ready to
blame a general who could not crush his
foe by a decisive advance
Besides the vague ineficiency which
could not raise money could not provide
men, and yet grumbed because the com
| mander-in chief wanted men and money
there was a particular form OF absurdity
which caused Washington some anxiety
A powerful faction in New England dis
| liked him because he was not New
| Englander and because he was a Vir-
ginian. The greatest pamphleteer of the
age, Samuel Adams, was in full sympathy
with this faction, and the greatest orator
OF the day, John Adams was in partial
| sympathy with It, John Hancock thought
| Washington an incumbrance rather than
| mead TO the army. The clique that every
new generation hatches--the clique OF
| speechmakers and resolution trainers and
mutual admirers-was alive, and every
member of that clique disliked the silent
man from Virginia. One pet plan of the
malcontents was to make the army demo-
cratic, and the best way to make the
army democratic was to elect new COM
mander-in- chief every year Washington
required his stan to dine with him every
utASt anu tApttlth lulpIndl reports OF their
commands. This was denounced as POM
pous and tyrannical, hints were thrown
out that Washington aimed at making
himself a despot. officers known to be
hostile to him were promoted to high
positions John Adams stopped to ask
whether Washington did not owe his rank
simply to the fact that he had married a
| rich widow. When John Adams could say
this it is not worth while to ask what the
smaller fry said. But Washington did
not intend TO resign. He might be de-
prived of his command he might be
hampered into absolute helplessness; but
he was not going to yield to praters and
cavaliers.
Had the army been united the command
ing general might have looked on a mere
political opposition with calmness But
the army was not united. A cabal wished
to supersede Washington, and promote
Gates. The surface facts encouraged
these men. Washington had lost battle
after battle, and was known for his re-
treats rather than his victories. Gates
had captured Burgoyne's whole army, and
the news of the triumph called forth a
thousand comparisons, each more unjust
and spitefui than its predecessor. In all
ranks of life men find that jealousy Is
merciless and tireless. A lawyer may be
hated by the opposing lawyers client, but
1t is his own profession who will deal
the most cruel blows, and stoop to the
| lOWSSN lTlckeTy. NO Gazing is free from
these professional rancors, and a mans
foes may be of his own army. When
generals and colonies determine TO break
down a commander-in-c chief, they under
stand their work too well to mutiny or
openly neglect their duties. 1t is posi-
BILE to weaken a commanders authority,
to thwart his plans, to ALLEVIATE the hearts
of his troops without any breach of reg
ulation.
George Washington knew that a certain
element In the army sought his disgrace,
and sought it by foul means. How far the
leaven of dissatisfaction had spread he
could not tell; but he knew that officers
can salute with all respect and make their
, reports with due formality, while they are
writing complaints to their friends at
court. The world cannot forget the Jew
, ish warrior who asked courteously after
! the health of Amasa, and then struck
Amasa in the fifth rib. Every man has
his morbid seasons, and there must have
, been anxious moments when George
Washington suspected this or that officer
of being false to him. He had seen enough
of warfto know that all the spies are not
in the enemy's camp or the enemy s
service. All around him were men who
could misrepresent or distort facts and
the bitter Christmas was not sweetened
by the existence of the cabal
At times the strongest man weakens