oo much on the competence
of such a force to the purposes of war, and they depended too long on
the spirit of patriotism, which was believed to animate the mass of
the people.

Under these impressions, the determination to form a permanent army
was too long delayed; and the measures necessary to raise such an army
were deferred, till their efficacy became doubtful. It was not until
June, 1776, that the representations of the Commander-in-chief could
obtain a resolution, directing soldiers to be enlisted for three
years, and offering a bounty of ten dollars to each recruit. The time
when this resolution could certainly have been executed, had passed
away. That zeal for the service, which was manifested in the first
moments of the war, had long since begun to abate; and though the
determination to resist had become more general, that enthusiasm which
prompts individuals to expose themselves to more than an equal share
of danger and hardship, was visibly declining. The progress of these
sentiments seems to have been unexpected; and the causes producing
such effects appear not to have been perceived. The regiments voted by
congress were incomplete; and that bounty, which, if offered in time,
would have effected its object, came too late to fill them.

It was not in numbers only that the weakness of the American army
consisted. In arms, ammunition, tents, and clothes, its deficiency was
such as to render it unfit for the great purposes of war, and
inferior, in all these respects, to the enemy which it was destined to
encounter.

But, however inadequate to the object the regular force might be, both
the government and the Commander-in-chief were determined to defend
New York; and congress passed a resolution to reinforce the army with
thirteen thousand eight hundred militia. For the defence of the middle
colonies, and for the purpose of repelling any attempt to land on the
Jersey shore, it was resolved to form a flying camp, to be composed of
ten thousand men, to be furnished by Pennsylvania, Delaware, and
Maryland. The militia, both of the flying camp and of the army at New
York, were to be engaged to serve until the first of December; and the
Commander-in-chief was empowered to call on the neighbouring colonies
for such additional temporary aids of militia, as the exigencies of
his army might render necessary.

Great and embarrassing as were the difficulties already noticed, they
were augmented by the disaffection of t