washington : commander in chief

Front matter

BV EO

LISRARY

3 } PL etc

Foreword to the Reader

HE object of this work is to set forth in its true light,

and with its right perspective, the military record of George Washington, American Commander in Chief throughout the Revolution. The many biographies of Washington have not approached their subject from the military point of view, with the account of the actual military operations as the inflexible basis for the text.

There is an urgent need for such a book, because, especially of late, the character of Washington has been distorted out of all semblance of reality. There has been a constant stream of books filled with petty and personal comment, and with ex parte treatises that have blurred the great issues and the great events. The recent biographers of Washington have made the mistake of controversial argument, to an extent that has colored their statements of his career.

At this approaching two-hundredth anniversary of his birth, it is fitting that we should study the actual facts of the case — and that we should allow these facts to shape the verdict, without special pleadings. In a book which deals with the course of military events, the narrative of facts must be the main theme, and adhering to this is the only sound method of treatment. For, in the military field of action above all, res ipsa loquitur. In this work every effort will be made to give a true statement of the military events,

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PREFACE and, as the character of George Washington was bound up in these events, the writer believes that a true picture of the character of Washington will be reflected in the following narrative.

Contents

I. SELF-TUITION IN BOYHOOD I Il. GRADUATION TO MANHOOD 8 II. FIRST MILITARY ADVENTURES 14

IV. THE LESSONS OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS 20 V. THE CLEAVAGE BETWEEN THE AMERICAN COLO-

NIES AND GREAT BRITAIN 29 VI. THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION 37 Vil. THE UPRISING; WASHINGTON MADE COMMANDER IN CHIEF 45 VIII. THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 54 IX. THE SITUATION AT BOSTON 68 X. THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 80 XI. THE COURSE OF EVENTS IN THE WINTER OF 77531779 88 XII. EXPULSION OF THE BRITISH FROM BOSTON 96 XIII. THE MILITARY SITUATION DEVELOPED 104. XIV. AFTER THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON I12 XV. THE SHIFT OF THE SCENE TO NEW YORK Or XVI. THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND AND THE WITH- DRAWAL OF THE AMERICANS 131 XVII. THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF NEW YORK 140