Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/507

 GEORGE WASHINGTON 487 machinery of government for peace and war. It had also the undoubted sympathy of a con- siderable portion of the people, especially of the wealthy class. That Washington, carry- ing on the war under these circumstances, met with frequent reverses, and that the progress of the revolution as conducted by him seemed often languid and inert, is less wonderful than that he rose superior to such formidable ob- stacles, and was able, with unexhausted pa- tience and matchless skill, to bring the con- test eventually to an auspicious and honorable close. He took command of the forces be- sieging Boston on July 3, 1775. No event of great significance followed for eight months. The country fretted under the inaction of the army ; the army languished under indiscipline, the homesickness of raw troops, inoculation for smallpox, the want of every requisite for strength or comfort, and especially a military chest. The evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776, was the glorious reward of the per- severance and skill of the commanding gen- eral. Then followed, in rapid succession, the disasters of Long Island, of Fort Washington, and of the calamitous retreat through the Jer- seys. The brilliant coup de main of Trenton and the substantial success of Princeton restored the drooping courage of the people ; but they were followed by the reverse at Brandywine, the unsuccessful blow at Germantown, and the terrible winter at Valley Forge. The next summer (1778) the courage and skill of Wash- ington turned a disgraceful commencement of the day at Monmouth into a substantial vic- tory; but from that time forward no brilliant success attended the forces under his imme- diate command till the final blow was struck, with the overwhelming numbers of the com- bined American and French forces, at York- town. After this great success the war still dragged out a lingering existence. More than two years elapsed from the capitulation of Yorktown (October, 1781) to the evacuation of New York (Nov. 25, 1783). Events like these do not surely make a brilliant military career, when tried by the popular standard of success. At times they shook even the well established popularity of Washington. The all-important success of Gates at Sara- toga formed an unsatisfactory contrast with Brandywine and Germantown, which occurred in the same campaign. The second place in the army was held for three years by Gen. Charles Lee, a turbulent and empty braggart, perpetually laboring in secret to undermine the popularity which he dared not openly as- sail ; while cabals and boards of war in con- gress endeavored, by disgusting the command- er-in-chief, to drive him to resignation. But in vain. The country saw that he was doing his best with his wretchedly limited means ; that he was hopeful while others were despondent ; that he was wise and prudent, while others were indiscreet, or feeble, or rash ; in fact, that the cause was embodied in him and in his hold on the heart of the people. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in a parting address of surpass- ing beauty, resigned his commission as com- mander-in-chief of the army to the continen- tal congress sitting at Annapolis. He retired immediately to Mount Vernon, and resumed his occupation as a fanner and planter, anx- iously shunning all connection with public life. Much of his time, however, was occu- pied by a laborious correspondence on the in- finity of subjects connected with the revolu- tionary war, and by the throng of visitors from every part of the Union and of Europe. In 1784 he crossed the Alleghanies, partly to look after his lands in that region, and partly to explore the head waters of the rivers which rise in the interior of Virginia, with a view to their connection with the western waters. On his return he addressed a memoir on this subject to the legislature of Virginia, which led to the organization of the James River and Potomac canal companies. In acknowledg- ment of his agency on this occasion, and still more of his revolutionary services, the state of Virginia presented him with 50 shares in the Potomac canal, valued at $10,000, and 100 shares in the James River canal, valued at $50,000. He accepted the donation only as the trustee of some public object. The shares in the James River canal were appropriated by him for the endowment of a college at Lexington in Rockbridge co., Va., which in consequence assumed the name of Washington college. The shares in the Potomac canal were appropriated as the endowment of a univer- sity at the seat of the federal government. The United States, as is well known, after the revolution, fell into a state of governmental inanition bordering on anarchy. The recom- mendations of the continental congress were without weight, no revenue accrued to the treasury, and the European debt, principal and interest, remained unpaid. Foreign govern- ments held the United States in low repute ; the Indian tribes scourged the frontier; the separate states, instead of acting in harmony, enacted conflicting laws for imposing duties on foreign commerce ; in a word, discontent was universal. To put an end to the contro- versies between Maryland and Virginia re- lating to the navigation of the rivers which divided their territories, a meeting took place at Alexandria in 1785, and while there the members made a visit to Mount Vernon. This led to the call of a convention of delegates, which was assembled at Annapolis in 1786, of which the object was "to take into considera- tion the trade of the United States ; to exam- ine the relative situation and trade of the said states ; and to consider how far a uniform sys- tem in their commercial regulations may be necessary to their common interest and per- manent harmony." The delegates of five states only attended this meeting, and some of them with powers too limited for any valuable pur- pose. They drew up a report, recommending