Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-11

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first battle of Charleston. when Corn
wallis tried to take that city and was
repulsed. Gen. Charles Lee. In his re-
port of the engagement, praised the
German regiment highly."I think ii JUS
tice," he says, to publish the merits of
Colonel Moultre and his brave garrl-
son; and know not which corps have
the greatest reason to be pleased with,
Muhenbergs Virginians or the North
Carolina troops, They were equally
alert, Jealous and spirited"
Considering the fact that Lee. what
ever his faults may be. had been a gen.
eral in the army of England and the
army OF Poland, and was considered
one of the highest military authorities
OF that day, this was quite flatterlng
for raw recruits But Muhlcnberg's
regiment had other claims for recogni
ton. 1t was the first one that was COM
plete for immediate service and 1t was
tho best armed best clothed and best
equipped In the Continental army.
Throughout 1776 Muhlenberg served
i'm the south. In February, 1777. he was
promoted to be brlgadier general. rank
Ing In the army list Immediately after
Anthony Wayne He took command of
his brigade in May, and had 1t in high
state OF discipline at the time of tho
battle of Brandywfne. If it had not
been so the Continental army might
have been destroyed in that battle. for
it was this brigade that checked Corn
wallis after his lordship had turned
Washington's flank. Ono OF the English
generals. in his report OF the battle,
said this of WeedonS and Muhlenbergs
brlSades: "They exhibited a degree of
firmness, order and resolution and pre-
served such a countenance in extreme
ly sharp service as would not have
discredited veterans"
STURDY AND TRUE.
These two reports. that of Lee at
Charleston and the English general at
Brandywine, afford an excellent line on
Muhenberg's men as they were
throughout the war. They were good
fighters, very hard to dislodge once
they took a position. They were not
brilliant. but they always could be
relied upon. And the general was a
good deal like them. No one ever
credited him with being a military gem
ius. but he knew how to put his own
good lighting spirit into his men. and
he kept up higher degree of discipline
than perhaps any other general in the
continental service except Wayne.
1t Is not to be supposed that he was
lacking in ability. In the battle OF Ger
ington assigned him to do and was the
only general to carry out his orders to
the letter. If the others had done as he
did the whole British force would have
been captured, but Muhlenberg carried
out his orders so well that he penetrat-
ed to the point of concentration, only
to be there without support and to
have to fight his way out. He lost one
regiment before he could extricate
himself. but the wonder is that he was
not crushed.
Throughout the winter at Valley
Forge Muhlcnberg had charge OF the
outer seml-circle, and in the battle of
Monmouth his brigade formed the right
wing OF General Greene's division,
Greene received high praise for the
conduct of his division, so 1t can be
accepted as fact that the Mullen
berg brigade did pretty we'll in the
grueling fight that followed tho rout
of Lees force.
1t was not until the magnificent af-
fair of Stony Point that Muhlenbere
came prominently into notice again,
While Wayne made his dashing assault
Muhlenberg, with 300 picked men OF his
brigade. covered and supported the at
tack. The glory of the assault belongs
to Fleury. but the fact that in this haz-
ardous undertaking Washington should
have selected Muhlenberg as second
in command Is evidence of how highly
the commander-in-chief considered the
pastor OF Woodstock.
REAL WORK.
In 1779 Washington sent Muhlenberg
back to Virginia The British had met
much resistance and their victories In
the north had been barren. but in the
4 hn u
whllo the richest part of the young re-
public. was the weakest, large sec
tions of Georgia and the Carolinas
being disaffected, and Sir HenrY Clin-
ton mad taken advantage of this con-
dition to send various expeditions to
the south. One of these expeditions had
raVaSed. plundered and burned the Vir-
gina seaboard without opposition.
Much as Washington would have liked
to defend his own state he couId NOT
He did not care withdraw his threaten
ed attack upon New York, and he hn,
urgent need Of every regiment I'm his
command. Something had to be done
however. for the protection not only of
virginia, but for the support OF an
army that would keep the British busy
IN the Carollnas and Georgia So he
sent. Muhlenberg to Virginia. but
Kept Muhlenberg's brigade on the
Hudson. The parson not only had to
raise and drill a new force. but see to
the equipment of tho regiments. How
successful he was In carving ont
Washington's desires is shown bv tbe
large body of troops under his and
Lafayette's command. which penned
Cornwallis up in Yorktown and started
the fight that ended the war.
Probably throughout the whole Revo-
iutlonary struggle General Muhlen-
oerg did no better service for the coun-
try than In this period of recruiting an
army. His great popularity among
the Germans he used to the utmost de-
gree, ana then he used the fine ex-
unp'e set py the Germans to influence