Having, for the sake of continuity, carried forward, thus far, the narrative of doings in the north, we now turn our attention to the critical position of affairs in and about New York.
Well may Washington have looked with anxiety upon his position and the probable issue of the contest now near at hand. When General Howe landed on Staten Island, Washington's force consisted of only ten thousand men, of whom many were disabled by sickness. Some regiments joined him from other states, yet on the 8th of August, in a letter to Congress, the commander-in-chief states, that his force is little more than seventeen thousand, and over three thousand of these were sick. Yet even under this melancholy state of things, Washington expressed the hope, that the enemy would not gain any great advantage, except at a dear price. Further reinforcements soon after raised the army to twenty-seven thousand men, of whom one-fourth were on the sick list. Besides being miserably equipped, and badly disciplined, sectional jealousies and dislikes prevailed to an alarming extent. The aristocratic southerner, as well as the men from the middle states, looked down upon the rough homespun of New England; and these, in turn, did not fail to express themselves very freely, as to the pride and insolent airs of their neighbors from under a warmer sky.[1] Washington was compelled to interfere, and to point out in the plainest language, the intense mischief that must result from these disgraceful quarrels. His words deserve to be well weighed, even in our day. It is with great concern, that the general understands that jealousies have arisen among the troops, from the different provinces, and reflections are frequently thrown out, which can only tend to irritate each other, and injure the noble cause in which we are engaged, and which we ought to support with our hand and our heart. The general most earnestly entreats the officers and soldiers to consider, that they can no way assist our enemies more effectually, than by making divisions among themselves; that the honor and success of our army and the safety of our bleeding country depend upon harmony and good agreement with each other; that the provinces are all united to oppose the common enemy, and all distinctions sunk in the name of an American. To make this name honorable, and to preserve the liberty of our country, ought to be our only emulation, and he will be the best soldier, and the best patriot, who contributes most to this glorious work, whatever his station, and from whatever part of the continent he may come. Let all distinctions of nations, countries, and provinces, therefore, be lost in the generous contest, who shall behave with the most courage against the enemy, and the most kindness and good humor to each other. If there be any officers, or soldiers, so lost to virtue and a love of their country, as to continue in such practices after this order, the general assures them, and is
- ↑ An American officer, writing to a friend, gives it as his opinion, that the Pennsylvania and New England troops, were as ready to fight each other as the enemy.
