Troops
were on the way, also, under Generals Heath and Sullivan, to be followed
by many more, and there was every indication that soon a large army
would be concentrated in and around New York.
Who to trust with this important command was a serious question for the
Commander-in-Chief, but he finally pitched upon Putnam, in whom he
seemed to have confidence, though with some misgivings which
foreshadowed the accuracy of his final estimate of the man. In a letter
treating of a similar situation, two months previously, Washington had
written to Congress: "General Putnam is a most valuable man and a fine
executive officer; but I do not know how he would conduct in a separate
department."
But he resolved to entrust him with the command, and on the 29th of
March, only twelve days after the British had left, gave him his orders,
which concluded with this expression of confidence: "Your long service
and experience will, better than my particular directions at this
distance, point out to you the works most proper to be raised; and your
perseverance, activity, and zeal will lead you, without my recommending
it, to exert every nerve to disappoint the enemy's designs.
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