The poetical and prose writings of Dr. John Lofland, the Milford bard, consisting of sketches in poetry and prose ... With a portrait of the author and a sketch of his life

Front matter

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Chapter I

" Our fortress is the good green wood, Our tent the cypress tree ; We know the forest round us, As seamen know the sea."— Sono of Mabion'

Men.

N the 11th of December, 1777, was seen the ^j American Army, consisting of 12,000 regulars, and 3,000 militia, under the command of the now world-worshipped Washington, on the road from White Marsh to Valley Forge ; and a more miserable looking army never followed that redoubtable hero John FalstafT, of whom the immortal Shakspeare has given us so graphic a description. But notwithstanding their miserable appearance, never did a braver set of men endure hardships in the cause of liberty — hardships that would appal the stoutest at the present time, and such as are unknown to our soldiers at this day.

No language is adequate to the task of describing the privations and sufferings through which these self-devoted men passed, that they and their posterity might enjoy the blessings of freedom. Shoes and shirts were a luxury among them. Thousands were barefooted, and as they trod with their scarred and cracked feet the frozen ground, they left their tracks in blood. Some poor fellows could boast of havin'J one whole shirt, which, when taken off, would almost be moved 4 by vermin ; some had only a piece of one, while the greater part had none at all. To cap the climax of misery, but a very few had the luxury of a blanket in which to wrap themselves at night, and as straw could not be obtained, the greater part were under the necessity of sleeping on the humid ground, fast to which they were not unfrequently found frozen in the morning.

Scarcely had Washington established himself in his winter-quarters, ere it was found that the magazines did not contain much more than a single day's provision. Benumbed with cold, and enfeebled by hunger, disease was the consequence ; and the hospitals were filled up as fast as the dead were removed. A fatal fetor arose from the multitude of sick soldiers, confined in badly constructed buildings, and hospital fever was the consequence, which could not be alleviated or warded off by wholesome diet, change of linen, and proper medicines, as none of them were to be had. Even the coarsest diet, and that in small quantities, was scarcely attainable.

More than three thousand of these brave men were exempted from duty on account of their nakedness, and the sufferings they endured from intense cold. "The patience with which these patriotic votaries of freedom endured such complicated evils," says a distinguished female historian, " is, we believe, without a parallel in history. To go to battle, cheered by the trumpet and the drum, with victory or the speedy bed of honor before the soldier, requires a heroic effort; much more to starve, to freeze, to lie down and die, in silent obscurity. Sparta knew the names of the three hundred who fell for her at the Pass of Thermopylae ; but America knows not the names of the hundreds who perished for her in the Camp of Valley Forge."

But though their names are unknown, their memory has been immortalized on the imperishable pages of history as martyrs, who perished to perpetuate the sacred principles of freedom, and the glorious privileges we enjoy; and which we are bound, by every impulse of honor and gratitude, to transmit untarnished to the millions yet unborn. Ye mothers of America — ye daughters of the illustrious women of Sevemty-Six ; tench your sons and daughters the story of the mighty sacrifice ; of the melancholy martyrdom of those who immolated themselves on the sacred altar of their country — teach them the story of the suffering and death which the heroic sons and daughters of Seventy-Six endured, that they may learn the price of liberty ; that they may realize the value of the virtues that achieved it ; and of the privileges they enjoy ;

and that their hearts may be imbued with a sense of the gratitude they owe to the illustrious men who planned, and the brave soldiers who battled and bled for freedom. The virtues and the valor of those men and mothers must not be forgotten. They must brighten still brighter, as they roll down the restless tide of time ; and the youth of our country shall catch inspiration from the deathless deeds recorded on the record of renown, and at the shrines of those martyrs of emancipated America.

There were several causes to which the sad and suffering condition of the American army could be traced, the first of which I shall mention, is that of bills of credit, which had depreciated in value one-fourth. Linen and leather had become extremely scarce, and contracts had been entered into by the commissaries, at ten per cent, more than the price at which they were sold. Congress refused to accede to this arrangement, and stipulated that bills of credit should be paid as specie for supplies. The result was, that the materials could not be procured on these conditions; for the paper currency was vastly depreciated, and all articles of consumption had advanced in price.

To add to the distress of the great and good Washington, many of his bravest and brightest officers resigned their stations in the army, disgusted at the degraded situation in which they were placed; for, after having spent their private fortunes in endeavoring to support the dignity to which they were entitled, they found, that so far from being able to make a respectable appearance, and live as officers of rank should live, they were unable to procure the necessaries of life.

To cap the climax of Washington's troubles, and to show his virtues in still brighter light, intrigues were got up against that great man, and all the influences of envy and calumny were brought to blast him. The object was to disgust him with his situation as commander-in-chief, and thus drive him from the arn)y ; that General Gates might be promoted, whose fame was just then in its zenith, on account of his brilliant success in the capture of Burgoyne and his whole army.

One of the principal men engaged in this attempt to break down Washington, was General Conway, from France, a wily intriguer, and charged with being the author of the letters signed D'Lisle. He represented to all the members of Congress that there was no order or regulation in the Camp at Valley Forge, and he was appointed inspector-general by Congress. Congress received a remonstrance from Pennsylvania, censuring in strong language the measures of Washington : and another from members from Massachusetts, Samuel Adams being one of them They were displeased that a Virginian should command the army, instead of one of their own generals, whom they ranked as superior to Washington. Gates and Mifflin, both believed to be engaged in the machinations against the commander-in-chief, were placed at the head of a board of war; and Congress, at the suggestion of this board, ordered an expedition against Canada, without consulting Washington. He was ordered to detach La Fayette for the object, but he was recalled from Albany, and the expedition there ended.

During this dark crusade of envy and calumny against suffering virtue, the confidence of Congress in the commander-in-chief was shaken ; but persecuted virtue ever comes forth from the fiery ordeal more bright and beautiful, and thus it was with the man whose memory is now enshrined in the hearts of all.