Page:Sketch of Connecticut, Forty Years Since.djvu/206

 læ of our revolution. It raised the doubting spirit of our people, and taught them confidence in the resources of their own strength. Those, who retained possession of the field, were humbled at the gallant bearing of undisciplined troops, and depressed at the magnitude of their own loss. It was the first time that they had seen military skill, and the terrour of a royal name bow before the rude enthusiasm of liberty. It was a difficult page in the lesson of humiliation. For my own part, I have never since looked upon that green hill, or at the tomb of the warriours who sleep in its bosom, without numbering them among the silent but powerful agents who influenced our destinies as a nation."