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 1775] Washington made Commander-in-chief. 167 we can trace no attempt by the loyal party to protest or to organise any opposition to Congress. The great work of the Second Congress was the raising of a conti- nental army. The Congress boldly announced the existence of some kind of confederation. The colonies were spoken of in formal resolutions as " united " and " confederated." But the nature of the federal tie and the machinery which was to give it effect were left wholly undetermined. No doubt the Congress was wise in taking that course. Time urgently needed for other purposes would have been ill-occupied in debating on the form of a federal union. The Convention of Massachusetts took an important practical step by placing the forces of that colony under Congress, and thus forming the nucleus of a continental army. This was supplemented by raising further troops. Pay was provided for by the issue of bills of credit to be redeemed by the twelve colonies, exclu- sive of Georgia. What amount was to be redeemed by each colony individually, and when such redemption was to take place, were questions left open for the present. The tendency to independent and disconnected military operations was kept in check by an order that no colony was on its own responsibility to attempt any operations against Canada. But by far the most important act of Congress in its immediate and even more in its ultimate results was the choice of Washington as commander-in-chief. That choice was no doubt in a great measure determined by considerations other than personal fitness. If the southern colonies were to take their full share of interest in the struggle, it was clear that it must not be left to a New England army under a New England general. But we may be sure that the choice, desirable in itself,- of a southern general, was made much easier by the presence of a southern candidate so specially fitted for the post as Washington. Not indeed that his fitness was or could be as yet fully revealed. Intelligence and public spirit, untiring energy and industry, a fair share of technical military skill, and courage almost dangerous in its recklessness all these were no doubt perceived by those who appointed Washington. What they could not have foreseen was the patience with which a man of clear vision, heroic bravery, and intense directness, bore with fools and laggards and intriguers ; and the disinterested self-devo- tion which called out all that was noblest in the national character, which shamed selfish men into a semblance of patriotism and factious men into a semblance of union. Still less could it have been foreseen that, in choosing a military chief, Congress was training up for the country that civil leader, without whose aid an effective constitution would scarcely have been attained. While Congress was sitting, the troops whom Washington was to command had taken the first step in the transition from an undisciplined mob to a seasoned army. To understand the battle of Bunker Hill it is