The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-17

ington through New Jersey, hotly pur- sued by the victorious Cornwa1lis; i; they seemed but the remnant of a host that had espoused hopeless cause, which was f'hastening to ire trievab1e ruin" At Christmas the rift came in the clouds of that black sky Hope was revived, and a ray of light was shed on the chief and his brave men, who had sought the protection of the Delaware River; they had bestirred themselves, and To! the pursuers became the pursued. The audactous midnight surprise at Trenton, and the subsequent aggres- stzeness of the supposedly vanquished army, by which all New Jersey was regained in 8 few days, afforded an astonished world glimpse of that superiority in initiative and cool vaIor which has come to be a national char Acteristic. The strategy of the New Jersey campaign may be regarded as typical of that of most of the suc- ceeding campaigns of the war. The policy of nanoeuver4ng and retreat ing in order to avoid battle or the total eclipse of surrender, was often imposed upon the American army by reason of its paucity of numbers and inadequate resources. The British army was wefl-equtpped at every point, courageous; a powerful adver- sary. Nevertheless there were bat
 
 royal troops were forced to yield; the once desp4sed Americans became menace to their foes.e for America rais- ed up an army of veterans in a, few years.
 The North had been the scene of unremttt1ng hosti1tties ever since the beginning of the war. When TicOn-- deroga fell, in the summer of 1777, the British deemed that they had ta-- hen theF key of America. The ex- ultation in England was unbounded. It was, however, destined to be short lived, for the Americans had woven a net around the invading army that had come down from Canada. In few months the whole army of Gen eral Burgoyne-which was to have ta- ken the state of New York-was sur rounded by militia, and forced to sur render at Saratoga. It was a mas terstroke that brought to sudden end the danger of invasion from the north and British control of the Hud- son River. This victory followed long series of disasters, in Canada and on the shores of Lake Champ1atn; the tide was coming in, and with 1t the promise of aid from far-away France.
 The army of General Howe estao- lfshed itself at Philadelphia and Ger rnantown in September 17T7. He mad failed to cooperate with Burgoyne, and had been outgeneraled by Wash ington in another campaign of ma noeuvering. The American army had attacked his forces at Brandywine Creek. but was forced to retreat. The commando der-in-cfief planned a bold attack on the British at Germantown. which barely failed of success, and all most encompasSed the ruin of Howe's army. The genius and daring that Washington displayed on this occasion dispelled the last lingering doubt of the French court as to the ultimate outcome of the war, and hastened the arrival of that succor which shorten ed it. The winter passed at Phila- de1phfa amid gayety and festivities The 1oyalist9 welcomed the Brltisht their officers were hosp1tabIy enter taAf1ed. There were no evidences of a ratdoRs distress, or the turmoil of war. On the contrary, spirit of nivoI1fy peTvaded the air. and the city was made a scene Of rejoicing The vision of gay pGsocegs1ons and t11rongs in gala day attires vanishes and in their place appear the bleak heights of Valley Forge. The soldiers whom they have rallied around their gen eral and are being drilled in the art of war by Steuben. The story of their cruel suffering, of their great-heartedl service, will be chronicIed in every history of their country that shall be TOT they are the nSrO0SS WHO did not fail when thousands of their comrades proved unequal to the bit ter ordeal that fell to the lot of the American soldier of the Revolution.
 Summer came at length, New Jer- sey again became a camping-groundI but now it was Washington that as- stunned the offensive. His army num- bered Is. 1000 soldierss it was capable Of great things, At the Battle of Monmouth. in June 17Ts. their strength was sorely put to the test. It was a day that revealed once more the greatness of the comnander-in- 1 chief. and the courage of his troops, l who took and held that battle field, in 1 spite of the perf1dy within their lines that had planned confusion. Armies and battles were lost and won, and still the war ragged with .1lnabated fu- ry. The frontier was involved in all the horrors of border warfare, and the British men-of-war hatassed the | coast burning and sacking beautiful |