The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-09-28
General Knox had concentrated thirty

the lords in heavy columns at the
same time. The men came on in q
solid mass for the bridge head, cheer
Ing CALAMITY. They were met by
hnox's artillery and steady fire from
the rifemen. Three times they crashed
on that bridge like a mighty wave,
and three times like a wave broken
they fell back before an awful storm
Of ire General Washington himself,
sitting on his white horse, gave the or
uers at the bridge, and the brave enemy
we1t repulsed. The position was too
strong to be- taken by direct assault
without great loss; besides, it was not
vital after also reasoned CORVALLIS.
The British soldiery were weary, they
had marched all day at hot pace and
were exhausted. They had not lived in
a chronic state of exhaustion for so
long that they never gave it thought;
they were not used to it as were the
Continentals, and when the British
were tired they had to rest. They
would be in better spirit on the NOR
row.
The creek was fordable in a dozen
places, but CORVALLIS resisted the i'm
portunities of some Of bis officers, who
wished to ford it and attack at once.
He sent urgent messengers off to
Princeton to bring up the 1000 men
left there with Won Donop and to hur-
~ up Leslie with the rear guard, six
miles away. When they arrived they
| no irh oP %ho
leans, and it would be all up with
them then. He thought he had Wash
ington at such disadvantage that he
could not escape, though the small adj
vantage of position might enable him
to make a desperate resistance even
with his inferior forces.
eve will wait" he said to Erskine,
until Won Donop comes up, and Les
lie, and then We'll bag the old fox in
the morning!'
So, after brisk firing on both sides
until night closed down, the campfres
were lighted cn both sides of the creek,
and the British officer went to sleep,
calmly confident that he had held the
winning cards and all that was neces-
sary was that the hand should be
played out in the morning to enable
him to take the game again. He did
indeed hold the higher cards, but the
''old fox" showed himself the better
player.
| On the other side of the creek, in the
house of good Mistress Dagworthy,
anxious hearts We're debating. Cen
eral Washington had summoned a
council Of war, which expressed the
usual diversity of opinion on all sub
jects except an unwillingness to fight,
upon which, like every other council
of war, it was agreed. Indeed the
odds were fearful-1OOOO seasoned,
we'll equipped, we'll trained veteran
troops, ably led and smarting with the
late defeat and the check of the day
against 5000 or 5000 wretchedly pro-
vided soldiers, three-fifths Of whom
were raw militiamen who had never
heard a shot fred in anger!
Not even leader like Washington,
and officers to second him like Greene,
Sullivan, Knox, st. Clair, Stephen, Stir
ling, Cadwalader, Sergeant, Mercer,
AifHin, Reed, Stark, Hand, Glover and
and others, could overcome such dis
parity and inequality.
CORVALLIS had only to outfank them,
crumple them up, roll them back on
the impossible Delaware and then
God help them all!
There was no Disgusting the critical
nature of their situation, and the ar
my had never before been in so des-
perate position. 1t needed no great
skill to see the danger now to be faced,
but the mistake Of CORVALLIS gave
them a brief respite, Of which they
promptly availed themselves Wash
ington was not a man before whom it
was ever safe to indulge in mistakes,
and the more difficult his position the
more dangerous he became. Trial, dan
ger, hazard, seemed to bring out all Of
the most remarkable qualities of the
man in the highest degree. Nothing
alarmed him, nothing dismayed him,
nothing daunted him; the hotter the
conflict, the more pressing the danger,
the cooler he became. No man on
| SoA Ill "oo CfS1 ASdOy duu Au1Ch
to avail himself of time and opportuni-
ty once he had determined upon Il
course of action. This campaign was
the most signal illustration, among
many others, which his wonderful ca
reer affords. Action, prompt, bold, de-
cisive, was as the breath of life to him,
but before coming to a decision, con-
trary to the custom of great command
ers generally, he usually called coun-
Gil Of war, which on account Of his ex-
cessive modesty he sometimes allowed
to override his own better judgment,
to the great detriment Of the cause.
Alone he was superb. Given equal re-
sources, the world has not seen a gen.
eral with whom he could not success
fully be matched. In this particular
juncture, fortunately for the country,
he insisted upon having his own way.
There We're apparently but three al
ternatives before the council. The first
was retreat with all speed down the
river, leaving the heavy baggage and
artillery and then crossing at Phila-