Page:History of the United States of America, Spencer, v1.djvu/399

] forces at Crown Point, and in due time was able to put an effectual stop upon the vainly confident advance of Burgoyne, as will be related in a subsequent chapter.

Toward the close of September, Washington felt compelled to write to Congress in regard to the position in which he was placed before Boston. "It gives me great distress," he said, "to oblige me to solicit the attention of the honorable Congress to the state of this army, in terms which imply the slightest apprehension of being neglected. But my situation is inexpressibly distressing, to see the winter fast approaching upon a naked army; the time of their service within a few weeks of expiring; and no provision yet made for such important events. Added to these, the military chest is totally exhausted; the paymaster has not a single dollar in hand. The commissary-general assures me he has strained his credit for the subsistence of the army to the utmost. The quartermaster-general is precisely in the same situation; and the greater part of the troops are in a state not far from mutiny, upon a deduction from their stated allowances." Congress responded to the commander-in-chiefs appeal. About the middle of October, a committee of that body, Franklin, Lynch and Harrison, arrived at Cambridge, to meet delegates from the New England colonies, to take the steps necessary in the present emergency. Twenty-six regiments were, in accordance with Washington's recommendation, authorized to be enrolled, making in all, rather more than twenty thousand men. It was supposed that thirty-two thousand men might be raised in the four New England colonies for one year, which was the extent. of time that Congress was willing to fix for all the enlistments. This short term of enlistment, as we have before pointed out, was a well nigh fatal error, and the consequences of it were severely felt throughout the whole war. Washington's discretion, prudence, and firmness, were severely tried, before he succeeded in accomplishing the difficult task of organizing the army according to the plan agreed upon.

Beside the troops already engaged for service, Congress had made arrangements for increasing the number, by various regiments from the southern colonies, and also from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Congress likewise issued a proclamation, in which it was threatened, that measures of severity would be retorted upon the supporters of royal authority, in case any attempt were made to act towards the Americans in a way not usual in honorable warfare.

The alarming deficiency of powder in the camp, and the extreme difficulty of getting supplies, rendered Washington's position not only very uncomfortable but also very critical; for had General Howe been disposed to venture upon more active measures, and had he attacked the Americans in the midst of the annoyance and perplexity arising out of a part of the troops having and going home, and new recruits being brought in, it is almost certain that victory must have attended his arms, and disaster and ruin have fallen