It was
with only the "skeleton of an army" that Washington, on the eighth of
December, crossed the Delaware at Trenton, less than three thousand
troops remaining by him then. Cornwallis and his soldiers were not far
behind, during a portion of that gloomy retreat, a few days measuring
the distance between the rival armies; but they did not catch up with
the Americans that time.
The very day after his arrival at Trenton Washington ordered Putnam to
Philadelphia, where he was placed in absolute command, and where he
displayed the same energy and integrity of purpose that had always
animated him hitherto. He had been a sustaining force to the
Commander-in-Chief on that march across New Jersey, and of the few
generals who had stood by him, no one had endured with less complaint or
performed with more alacrity than Old Put. He was one upon whom to rely
in the proposed scheme of fortifying the city, and his long experience
at entrenching made him peculiarly fit for the work.
His sturdy nature, good sense, and ready wit made him at once a favorite
with the Continental Congress and the Committee of Safety; though the
former, acting on his advice, soon left the city for the greater
security of Baltimore.
Pages:
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175